TITLE: "On the Edge of Forever" 
AUTHORS: Anne R. [amrsecret@hotmail.com] 

And 

Pat Steiner [ssbpmn@aol.com] 

SUMMARY: A simple errand out of town turns into a
lesson in survival, and a lesson in what's really
important. A Harm/Mac shipper story, rated PG for mild
violence and language. This was written before
Lifeline and therefore events of Lifeline and Adrift
have no bearing on the story. 

DISCLAIMER: JAG belongs to CBS et all. We are not
engaging in copyright infringement with this work of
entertainment. 

FEEDBACK: Please, if you enjoyed. No thanks if you did
not. We know our work does not float everyone's boat,
and we have no problem with that, but we also do not
need to hear it. 




"On the Edge of Forever" 


JAG HQ's
1:00 PM EST



"Mac when do you.." Harm started as he strode into her
office, stopping when he realized she was on the
phone. 


"Yes Mic" Mac said irritably. "Did you take care of
the caterer? No, you were supposed to take care of
that. I'm taking care of everything else. Yes, I'm not
in a bad mood again. It's the bride's prerogative to
be this way two weeks before the wedding…..Mic, look I
have to go…..No, I don't know when I'll be home. You
know Harm and I are going to Winchester to interview
the witness in the Baylor case…..On that note I'm
going…Bye" She slammed the phone down and glared at
her partner who stood at her door. "You wanted
something?" 


"I just wanted to see when you wanted to leave for
Winchester" Harm replied. "I was hoping we could go
now so we can get back before it's late. That's if you
can pull yourself away from wedding plans to handle
your duties." 


"Cute Harm, real cute. And I'm really not in the mood
for any of your sarcasm so just do me a favor and keep
your little comments to yourself. And what's the big
hurry. Hot date with Renee tonight?" 


"No, I just would like to get back tonight at a
reasonable hour" Harm countered. 


"Because you have plans with Renee" Mac finished.
"Well of course we wouldn't want you to miss an
evening with Renee now would we." 


"And who's being sarcastic now" Harm said as he
started out of her office. He stopped and turned back
to face. "But that's right, it's the bride's
prerogative to be a bitch two weeks before the wedding
isn't it" Harm smirked as he walked away. 


Mac shook her head, wondering how on earth she'd ever
been talked into this whole wedding fiasco. She still
didn't understand why she and Mic couldn't just go
some place quiet and get married. Why they needed the
whole big production she had no idea. And why her
partner couldn't be a little more understanding. And
why the hell the Admiral had to assign them to go
interview the witness for the Baylor case? And why
couldn't Harm just go alone. 


"You'll never know the answers to these questions" Mac
muttered to herself as she threw some files in her
briefcase. A few seconds later she headed to Harm's
office. "I'm ready Commander," she said tersely.
"Least you be late for your date with the Video
Princess." Her derogatory term for Renee slipped out
and Harm shot her a long glare. 


"Her name is Renee" Harm retorted. "And I know you
don't like her but try and keep your opinions to
yourself." 


"Like you've never called Mic Bugme" Mac countered.
"Or something worse I'm sure I just haven't heard." 


"Well the terms fits" Harm muttered under his breath. 


"Why because I'm marrying him? Is that why he bugs
you?" 


"Do I look like I care who you marry? It's your life.
If you want to spend the rest of it with Bugme, that's
your prerogative." He finished clearing his desk and
threw the case file in his briefcase. "Let's go." 


They walked to the elevator without a word, drawing
stares from the others. The elevator doors finally
opened and Harm waited for Mac to step in first. 


"After you Colonel" he said tersely and she shook her
head as she stepped in. Harm followed and as the doors
closed turned to Mac. "I think for the sake of both
our sanity we should just not talk about anything
besides the case today." 


"Works for me" Mac replied. "Otherwise Bud might be
investigating the death of a certain JAG officer and
my defense will be insanity." 


"Didn't know you hated me that much" Harm retorted. He
was about to say more when the elevator came to an
abrupt stop, throwing Mac into Harm. He reached his
arms around her to steady her, and for a moment
neither moved as they stood face to face. Finally Mac
stepped away, the notion of being in her partners arms
a little unsettling. Harmon Rabb had the power to make
her heart beat just a little faster, something no
other man had done. 


"You'd better call and tell them we're stuck" Mac said
quietly. "We don't want you to be late for your date
tonight." 


Without a word he reached for the emergency phone.
"Yes this is Commander Rabb. Colonel Mackenzie and I
are in the elevator and it stopped between floors
again. Thank you." He hung up the phone with a sigh
and turned to Mac. "Have a seat, we may be here for a
while. They said a half hour to an hour before someone
gets out here." 


"Great, just great" Mac muttered as she paced the
elevator. 


"Maybe we should just call Mrs. Richards and tell her
we'll be out tomorrow to interview her" Harm
suggested. "By the time we get out of here." 


"No can do sailor. I'm off tomorrow. We have to go
today." 


"Let me guess wedding plans" Harm said irritably.
"That's right the wedding of the century is more
important than anything else right now." 


"Gee Harm, if I didn't know any better I'd say you
have a problem with the fact that I'm get married" Mac
retorted. 


"I told you before I don't care what you do" He turned
away as he said the words, for the truth be told he
did care. But she didn't need to know that. She was
marrying Mic and he wasn't about to tell her that he
thought she was making the worst mistake of her life.
"And I thought we agreed not to talk about anything
besides the case today. Especially since we're stuck
in here together." 


"You're the one who brought it up" Mac countered.
"Some sarcastic remark about the wedding of the
century I think." 


"Okay, my fault. I won't say another word," Harm said
tersely as he sat down on the floor. 


The next half-hour passed in silence as neither spoke.
Harm wasn't about to say anything and Mac had decided
that the silence was bliss at this point. 


"Commander we'll have you out of there shortly" a
voice called finally. "You and Colonel Mackenzie
okay?" 


"We're fine," Harm yelled back. 


It was another 15 minutes before the elevator finally
moved and a few seconds later they finally stepped
off. 


"Well we're just an hour behind now" Mac muttered as
she got into the government car. 


"Still plenty of time to get to Winchester and back
before dark" Harm countered. "Since someone else is
too busy to go tomorrow." 


"Excuse me for having a life that I'm getting on
with," she said softly. "I notice you came back from
flying and about the time you came out of your funk
from being sent back you opened your heart and your
bed to Ms. VP." 


"I did not seriously consider Video...Renee until we
got back from Sydney," he reminded her in a hoarse
voice. "And that was with you wearing Bugme's ring." 


Mac flushed uncomfortably and looked down to the ring
which at that moment seemed like it was flashing like
a lighthouse beacon. More than once she had questioned
in her own mind why she grabbed onto it. She tried to
tell herself too that Harm's rejection of her on the
ferry did not have anything to do with her taking the
ring---that she did not do it for the purpose of
getting Harm's attention. Truth be told, at first,
that was exactly what she did. And the more he backed
off, the more stubbornly she clung to the ring,
including moving it to her left hand. 


"Mac coming? Mac?" 


From somewhere she could hear his voice, and yet her
feet would not move nor her mouth respond. 


"Mac are we ever..." he tried and this time she turned
to him. 


"Mac what in gods name is wrong with you?" he
demanded, reaching for her arm, for her face was
devoid of all expression and a pasty whiteness had
taken over her normally olive toned complexion. 


"Mac are you sick--do you need to sit down--can I get
you something?" In his alarm his words poured out. 


That she heard and she felt his hand wrapped around
his arm. "No I'm fine...what the hell's the matter
with you?" 


"I was talking to you and I would have had more
response from a barn door," he growled, at the same
time studying her closely. "It was like all the color
was draining from your face or something. You're sure
you're OK?" 


"Could we just go," she begged, not wanting to tell
him that she had been at that moment lost in the
throes of what she was doing wearing that ring, and
what she was in the process of planning. 


"That's what I was requesting of you," he moaned.
"I've been ready." 

========================= 

The Capital Beltway led them to I-66 and shortly the
mountains loomed before them in the distance. They
were driving in silence, Mac watching the road and
Harm reading the case file, about half the distance
covered when the tractor trailer four cars in front of
them made a violent swerve across all lanes and as if
in slow motion, toppled on its side. She gave a small
cry of alarm and hit the brakes, as did the cars in
front, all skidding in various directions. With skill
she did not know she possessed she managed to bring
their vehicle to a halt without hitting any others. 


"Whoa nice driving," Harm gasped, his eyes still wide
with alarm. 


"Thanks I....," she began and her voice quavered. "I
was afraid we were all going to be on the six o'clock
news there for a second." 


"You and me both. Let's see if we can be of any help."



"Go ahead I'll be right there," she told him, her
voice still shaky. 


"Mac are you all right? 


"Will you quit asking me that I'm fine," she snapped.
"Go see if you can help out. I'll be there in a
minute." 


"Yes ma'am. Pardon me for being concerned." Harm
exited the vehicle and slammed the door. 


She was standing by the side of the car when he
returned ten minutes later. "I didn't think you needed
me. Is the driver OK." 


"He didn't make it," Harm answered quietly, hearing
the scream of sirens finally in the background. 


"I'm sorry I didn't come help," she whispered. 


"Nothing you could have done. But you're still shaking
aren't you?" He wrapped his hand around her slender
wrist. "You must have gotten a huge adrenaline jolt
when you did that fancy driving back there. I've had
it happen to me in the cockpit a lot. Takes some time
to calm down." 


"When I was ten," she began slowly, her voice far
away. "my dad was taking me to Marsha Summers birthday
party and a truck in front of us tried to take a curve
too fast and jack-knifed. My dad stopped and told me
to stay in the car, and I didn't and ran to the truck
and the driver had been...Harm his head was laying
there. I've never forgotten that." 


"I guess not," he whispered in sympathy, giving her
arm a squeeze. For a brief second their eyes met and a
spark of what used to be flamed. "Then you did right
to stay away. He might have had a heart attack or
something. I'll give our names to the police as
witnesses." As quick as it appeared the connection
vanished as she nodded and walked off to the side of
the road, taking deep breaths and trying to calm
herself. 


The police and ambulance arrived and Harm gave a quick
statement then turned to look for his partner,
surprised to find her still walking in the grass. "Mac
let's go, we can get by on the shoulder," he shouted. 


"Yeah OK." 


When she reached their car she was shaking slightly,
whether from cold or the accident he could not tell.
"I'll drive," he said firmly, and took her arm to lead
her to the passenger side. That she offered no
resistance bothered him, and yet he refrained from
asking her if she was all right. "I think we'll make a
coffee and comfort stop in the next town." 


"Not on my account please," she muttered and turned
herself toward the window as they started off. "I'm OK
I'm telling you." 


"OK so you're OK," he groaned. "I wouldn't mind some
coffee and to drain the lizard. Is that OK with you?
And yes I know, you have important stuff to get back
to tonight. I won't be long." 


"Thank you," she returned coldly. "Besides, I thought
you had a hot date to get to tonight as well." 


"I doubt that's going to happen" Harm muttered. "We're
already two hours behind." 


"And I suppose that's my fault" Mac snapped. 


"No it's your fault we can't reschedule this until
tomorrow" Harm retorted. 


"So turn around and go home" Mac shouted in
exasperation. "God forbid you miss a date with Renee
so I can have a day off. I'll just reschedule the
caterer, the florist and the minister so you don't
miss a night with Renee." 


"No, we're going tonight" Harm pouted. "I'll just call
Renee and tell her to go to the party without me." 


"Another one of those Hollywood glitz parties huh?"
Mac said sarcastically. "I thought you hated going to
those things." 


"They're not that bad" Harm countered. 


"As long as you don't mind being Renee's boy toy" Mac
smirked. 


"At least I'm not marrying a man simply to be married"
Harm retorted. She didn't say anything and he knew
he'd hit a nerve. "What's wrong Colonel, am I getting
warm?" Harm taunted. 


"I think we should go back to the no talking policy"
Mac snapped. "Because it's quite obvious that you and
I are not going to have anything civil to say to each
other." 


"Sounds good to me" Harm muttered. At the next small
town he pulled off the highway, driving until he came
to a service station. He didn't bother to ask if she
wanted anything as he climbed out of the car, figuring
she could get it herself. He couldn't remember the
last time they'd been at odds like this. Not even on
the Watertown had things been this bad. 


She was still sitting in the car when he returned and
without a word he started back onto the highway. If he
pushed it and Mrs. Richards didn't babble for too long
he might be able to make it back in time for the
party. Not that it was that big of a deal. He'd missed
parties before and Renee had gotten over it. 


They'd traveled for about five minutes when there was
a loud pop as the front tire blew out. The coffee in
the cup in Harm's hand swished out onto his hand and
lap as the car jerked to the right. 


"Harm" Mac cried from the passenger side. She grabbed
the cup from his hands and he kept his attention
forward, ignoring the pain as he concentrated on
getting the car to the side of the road safely.
Seconds later the car came to a halt on the right berm
of the freeway, Harm managing to maneuver it across
the lanes without further incident. 


"This is not happening" Harm groaned. The day was
going from bad to worse and he wondered if at some
point they shouldn't just give up and go home. 


"Let me see your hand" Mac ordered, not exactly sure
what she would be able to do for him. 


"It's all right," Harm said waving away her concern.
"I'll live. Right now we need to find out if there's a
spare in this wonderful car." He shook his hand as the
stinging continued; wishing there was something he
could put on it. 


"I'm sorry," she said automatically, feeling bad that
there wasn't anything she could do for him. "Let me
change the tire." 


"Like I'm going to let you change the tire" Harm
scoffed, the idea of letting her do that while he was
still standing out of the question. "I'll take care of
it." 


"Why can't I change the tire?" Mac demanded. "In case
you forgot, I am a Marine Colonel. Not the Video
Princess, who's afraid she'll break a nail. I can take
care of myself." With that she opened and the door and
climbed out and with a sigh he opened the trunk before
joining her. 


"Mac, let me" 


"Save it Commander" Mac said irritably. "I know you
can change a flat and so can I. And my hand wasn't
just burned by hot coffee. So just park your six out
of the way so I can get this done and get us back on
the road." 


Her tone left no room for argument and his hand was
hurting. He stood back away from the car as she pulled
out the jack and the spare, blessing their lucky stars
that at least there was a spare. She attached the
wrench to the lug nuts, cursing under her breath when
they wouldn't turn. 


"You want some help" Harm offered from where he stood
watching. 


"No I can manage" Mac retorted. "If this thing would
just budge" She wasn't about to tell him she couldn't
do this. Not when she'd made such a big deal about
doing it. 


"Mac, you're going to hurt yourself. Let me do that
please." 


"No, I can" she started only to let out a cry when she
forced the wrench too hard. It went flying as did she,
the momentum from pushing so hard throwing her off
balance. She tried to save herself by putting out a
hand to steady herself, but succeeded only in landing
hard on her left wrist. 


"Mac" 


"I'm all right," Mac said as she pulled herself to her
feet, ignoring the shooting pain in her wrist. He was
at her side at once, and she gave him a long glare.
"I'm fine." 


"You landed on your wrist, let me see it" Harm ordered
and she reluctantly held out her wrist. 


"It's okay, really" Mac said as she pulled it back.
"No worse than your hand." She started to kneel down
again at the tire, only to find herself being lifted
away by Harm. 


"I will change the tire," Harm said firmly as he
lifted the kicking Marine away. 


"Put me down" Mac demanded. "I'm going to change the
tire." 


"You are going to stand there and be quiet" Harm
ordered. "You've probably sprained that wrist and
there's no way you're going to get these lug nuts off.
You can't even more your wrist let alone turn the
wrench." 


He was right but she wasn't about to tell him that.
She stomped away from the car as he set to changing
the tire. This was the day from hell and it was only
getting worse. And they still hadn't even gotten to
Winchester. She watched him change the tire, not
offering any help. He'd made it clear that he could
handle it and she was content to let him do it. Her
wrist was throbbing already and she wished she'd
remember to put the new bottle of aspirin in her
purse. 


"Let's go" Harm said a short time later, the spare now
in place. 


"Can we stop at the next town?" Mac questioned
quietly. "Or will that throw off your plans too much?"



"I have no plans, remember" Harm retorted, knowing
full well there was no way he would make Renee's 6:00
dinner party. 


"I'll take that as a yes you'll stop" Mac said as she
climbed back into the car. 


Neither said a word as Harm pulled back onto the
freeway, wanting desperately for this day to be over.
He hated that him and Mac had sunk this low with each
other. At one time they'd been best friends. Now they
could barely stand to be in the room together. Let
alone in a car. And he knew that her upcoming wedding
to Mic was only going to widen the distance between
them. 


"Excuse me" Mac's voice broke through his thoughts and
he looked over, just as the exit passed by. 


"Sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I'll stop at the
next town" 


"Don't bother" Mac sighed. "Let's just get to Mrs.
Richards so we can get home." 


"I thought you wanted to stop?" 


"It can wait. I'll survive until we get to
Winchester." 


"Is your wrist hurting?" His tone was slightly gentler
and she sighed as she looked over at him. 


"Probably no more than your hand is so don't worry
about it" she said quietly. "I told you it will keep."



"Again, pardon me for having concerns," he said,
though this time he managed to keep his tone less than
sharp. 


"I think we just need to get through this and get back
to DC and things will look better in the morning," she
said, equally subdued. "Maybe we'll both wake up and
find out this day was a nightmare after eating too
much pizza." 


"We haven't done that in a long time," he said, his
voice wistful. 


"I ate pizza last..." she began and realized what he
was saying. "You mean together, like share." 


"Exactly," he smiled. "Cold pizza and a case that's
making us crazy. Not in a long time. Not since..." 


"Not since you left," she agreed quietly, "and I don't
think I want to mull over bad memories." 


"I hurt you bad that day," he said, much to her
surprise. 


"I didn't think you even...," she gasped. 


"I just held my tears," he whispered. "Until I got my
car off JAG property." 


"I didn't know...I didn't think you were focused on
anything but that." 


"Well you thought wrong, but I could let you know. I
needed to go, and I almost didn't as it was. Never
mind. Here's the signs for the exit up ahead and
there's a 7-11 listed. We can get some Advil there." 


He drove to the end of the exit road and made a left,
just as she was telling him the 7-11 was off to the
right. 


"Of course," he muttered. "I'll turn around. Well soon
as I find a place. Talk about being in the middle
of...never mind. There's a little store right there.
We might get there by midnight yet." 


He parked next to the only other car in the lot and
saw the sign for the restrooms. "I knew that jumbo
coffee was a mistake," he grinned. "Be right back. You
need some money for the pills?" 


Her glare answered him and she gingerly let herself
down to go inside. Each little movement of her arm was
sending pain through her wrist. Harm was experiencing
much the same thing as his hand, now fiery red and
covered with small blisters, throbbed painfully. 


The door was standing open and she slipped inside. It
was an old country store, smelling of baked goods and
dampness, reminding her of one she would walk to as a
child. With a quick nod to the older man at the
register, and paying little mind to the customer
standing before him with his back to her, she located
the Advil and stopped to look at a display of home
made cookies, deciding whether to indulge. 


She looked up to ask the clerk about the types, and to
her horror she realized this customer was in fact not
there to buy, but to take, as he had a handgun leveled
at the cashier's chest. Carefully she began to edge
her way back toward the door, praying Harm would not
walk in. She was backing up, not taking her eyes off
the scene before her when her hand hit a stack of cans
on display. They toppled with a loud clatter. The
gunman swung toward her, firing a shot in her
direction, the bullet shattering jars on the shelf
above her. 


Harm was just coming from the bathroom when he heard
it, and instinctively he flattened himself against the
wall. "Mac," he gasped, not knowing what was going on
or where she was, and immediately fearing the worst.
He slid his body along the wall toward the door,
debating whether to get his weapon from the glove box
of the SUV, parked on the other side of the building. 


A small cry of pain from inside, Mac's he knew, made
him cringe. Whatever was wrong, she was being hurt. 


The gunman, now holding his weapon on her, motioned
her to come toward him. With a longing eye to the door
she had done so, again praying Harm would not come in
and be in the line of fire. 


When she was within reach, the man grabbed her arm,
twisting her already damaged risk, and making her cry
out. The cry that Harm had heard. And now he heard the
man's voice ordering, "hurry up with that money man. I
didn't plan this, but I'm going to have a little
company here I think. This beautiful young lady and I
are going to have a good time once I get away from
here." 


"No way," he said under his breath. He would do
anything in his power to keep this man from taking
her. Harm dared a peek inside, gasping at what he saw.
Mac's arm, her sore wrist he knew, being twisted
behind her, and the worst part--a gun pressed against
her side. Again he thought of his weapon, and was
about to get it when another cry from her changed his
mind. She was in pain, and that tore at his heart.
That this man was hurting her made anger well inside
and hoping surprise would be on his side, he crouched
at the door way and then launched himself the ten feet
that separated them, giving a loud cry of anger that
would have made any Marine proud. 


The robber got off one shot just as Harm landed on him
and the struggle for the gun ensued. The force of
Harm's attack had also sent Mac sprawling and it took
a her a few seconds to scramble to her feet to join
the fray. She was reaching to help when there was
another shot, muffled this time as the gun was between
them. Blood pooled at once, and in a moment of frozen
horror, Mac saw that neither man was moving. 


"Harm oh god" she screamed, the calm cool Marine lost
in the wave of fear that was sweeping over her. 


"Mac, I'm okay" Harm said somewhat shakily as he
lifted himself off the now dead robber and stood up.
"But he's dead." 


Without thinking of what she was doing she threw
herself into his arms, all the arguments of the day
gone from her mind. She'd almost watched her partner
die in front of her eyes and at that moment she needed
that contact. 


"Hey, I'm okay" Harm said gently as he allowed himself
the luxury of letting his arms wrap around her as
well. It had been a long time since he'd held her in
his arms like this. She finally slipped out of his
arms, and slowly stepped away. 


"I called the police," the older man said quietly.
"They should be here any minute. Are you two okay?" 


She hadn't even thought about her wrist, her only
concern had been for Harm. 


"Mac, did he hurt your wrist?" Harm asked softly as he
reached for her hand. His touch made her gasp and he
gently lifted it up. 


"He didn't help it any" 


Harm sighed. "You should probably get that x-rayed." 


"Have to go to Winchester for that" the man replied.
"Doc Sommers handles the little stuff but he doesn't
do x-rays." 


"I'll be okay" Mac assured Harm as she pulled her hand
back. "It can wait until we get back to DC." 


The wail of sirens shattered the quiet and a few
seconds later the county sheriff arrived on the scene.



"What the devil happened here Harold?" the sheriff
asked the older gentleman. 


"He tried to rob me," Harold said pointing to the man
on the floor. "And then these two folks just happened
to come in at the wrong time. Well I guess it was the
right time." 


"Commander Harmon Rabb and my partner Colonel Sarah
Mackenzie" Harm said to the sheriff. 


"You mind telling me why there's a dead body on the
floor son?" 


After a lengthy explanation to the sheriff as to what
had transpired, Harm and Mac were finally allowed to
leave. They left their cards with the sheriff in case
any other questions arose before heading to the car. 


"It's your call" Harm said quietly as they climbed
into the car. "You want to continue on or just head
back to DC. " 


"We're this close" Mac sighed. "We might as well just
continue on to Winchester. Unless you'd rather get
back to Renee." 


"It's too late anyway," Harm said looking at his
watch. "By the time we get back…" 


"You want to call her and tell her?" Mac suggested.
"She might not hate you as much if you at least call."



"Yeah I'd better" Harm sighed and pulled out his cell
phone and dialed her number. 


"Harm, I was just getting ready to call you" Renee
exclaimed. "Forget the party. I just got a call about
a new deal. They want me in LA tomorrow morning. I'm
taking the last flight out tonight. Can you take me to
the airport?" 


"Actually I was calling to tell you I wasn't going to
make the party" Harm replied. "We still haven't gotten
to Winchester yet. I won't be home until later." 


"Darn" Renee pouted. "I guess that means I won't get
to see you before I leave. And I'll just have to find
someone else to take me to the airport." 


"Sorry" Harm sighed. 


"Well you take care and I'll call you tomorrow after I
find out how everything goes" Renee replied. "Love you
Sailor." 


"Bye Renee" He hung up the phone and glanced over at
Mac. "As Mic would say, no worries mate. Renee is on
her way to LA. So it doesn't matter when I get home.
Which means we can get your wrist looked at after we
talk to Mrs. Richards" 


"It'll keep until we get back to DC. Which is looking
more and more like midnight at this rate." 


"I know" Harm sighed. "And they said 7-11's were
dangerous." His mind drifted back to the scene in the
little store. The gun pressed into Mac's side. The
sound of her cry when the robber twisted her hand. 


In the passenger seat Mac's mind was rerunning the
horrendous moment when she thought she'd witnessed her
partners death. The sound of the gunshot and the site
of the pooling blood ran vividly through her mind. 


"Welcome to Winchester" Harm sighed a short time later
when they entered the city limits. "What's Mrs.
Richards address?" 


She opened the case file and rattled off a street
address as he exited the freeway. 


"Okay which direction? Harm asked. 


"No clue" Mac sighed. "There's nothing in the file
except the street address. Pull into the gas station
over there and I'll go in and see if someone can point
us in the right direction." 


"After our last stop I'll go with you" Harm said as he
pulled into on of the parking spaces. "I don't need to
go through that again." 


"Were you worried about me?" The words came out before
she realized she has spoken them out loud. 


"Gee what do you think?" Harm said quietly. "It's not
everyday I see my partner being held at gun point." 


"Well it wasn't exactly fun watching you struggle with
him for the gun" Mac whispered. "And then when it went
off and I couldn't tell who'd been shot.." Her voice
trailed off and she looked away, not wanting him to
know how much it had bothered her. 


"It's over now," he said softly. "Let's just get do
what we came here to do so we can go home. You still
have a big day ahead of you tomorrow." He started out
of the car and for a moment she sat there, for the
first time in weeks the wedding the furthest thing
from her mind. She finally opened the door and
followed him, the idea of him going in alone not
setting well with her either. 


A half-hour later they finally pulled up in front of
Mrs. Richards home. It was after 6:00, several hours
from when they had told her they would arrive. 


"She said she'd be home all night" Mac sighed as they
walked to the door, pulling her coat around her. The
air was turning chillier and she hoped the darkening
clouds to the west weren't bringing bad weather. "I
hope she didn't change her mind." 


To her relief the elderly lady opened the door a few
moments later, ushering them inside. 


"I wondered what happened to you" she smiled as she
showed them inside. "I thought maybe you'd changed
your mind with the bad weather coming in." 


"What bad weather?" Harm questioned. 


"They've just posted a weather advisory that there's
some freezing rain coming this way" Mrs. Richards
replied. "Should be here any time they say." 


"Great" Mac said forcing a smile as she looked at
Harm. "We're sorry we're so late. We had a few
problems along the way." 


"Oh that's okay dear" she assured Mac. "I've got
nothing but time. Can I get you a cup of tea or coffee
while we talk?" 


"That's not necessary" Harm started. 


"Well you've been on the road all day" Mrs. Richards
replied. "And it's no trouble at all. Now which would
you like?" 


A short time later they were sitting at the kitchen
table, Mac gratefully sipping a cup of tea while Harm
had finally accepted a cup of coffee. 


"So tell us everything you know about Petty Officer
Baylor" Harm said as he pulled out his legal pad. 


Two hours later Mac felt her eyes start to close, the
combination of the tea and Mrs. Richards warm home
making her sleepy. For his part Harm looked just as
tired and Mac wasn't sure if it was because of the
days events or Mrs. Richards endless talking. He'd
long since gotten what he needed for the case, but the
elderly woman had continued to talk. 


"Mrs. Richards we want to thank you," Harm said when
he could get a word in. "You've been a huge help and
we'll be in touch again if we need anything else." 


His words roused Mac some and she rose slowly, holding
her arm across her body, something he did not miss. 


"That's bothering you a lot. We're going to swing
through Winchester and get it looked at." 


"No we're not," she shook her head. "I'm going to take
it home and put it to bed. And then in the morning
I'll have it checked." 


"I could make it an order." 


"I wouldn't try," she retorted. "I am still the
ranking officer, even if it's something you choose not
to remember most of the time." 


"Mac I'm just concerned..." he attempted. 


"Give it a rest Commander." 


"You know what, you two could be married," Mrs.
Richards commented, an amused smile on her elderly
features. 


"Yeah and I could be President too," Harm growled. 


"What kind of a crack was that?" Mac demanded. "I'm
not so bad you know. And I have a ring that proves
that." 


"A ring from a man you don't love." 


"Says who? You? You who's had one fling after another
since we've known each other? What do you know about
love anyway?" 


"What's love got to do with anything," he countered,
his guard up high now, just as it was the day he left
to fly. 


"If you have to ask then you're a lot worse off than I
thought," she snapped and picked up her coat. 


"I do just fine thank you very much." He could not
resist the last word and then both looked at the older
woman, standing there enjoying every word. 


"Ma'am my apologies," Harm gasped. "That was a totally
unprofessional and uncalled for display." 


"Yes it was," Mac quickly added. "Our personal
problems don't belong being aired in front of you." 


"Nonsense. I don't get that much entertainment from my
soaps," she laughed, ushering them to do the door. A
cold blast of air greeted them as soon as she opened
it and when Harm stepped onto the front step sleet
pellets assaulted him. "I wish you folks would stay
until this passes," she went on. "My couch opens out.
Please." 


"No, no thanks," Mac shook her head. "Once we get on
the road we'll be fine. Harm?" 


He hesitated as she looked out into the weather. The
cold and sleet, and the long drive back over the
mountains were combining to make him feel uneasy. "Mac
we might want to consider..." 


"I'll drive if you're not up to it," she said firmly.
"Harm once we get out of the mountains the weather
will improve and you know I want to be back tomorrow.
Mic will be ballistic if I stay up here. We've got
stuff on the schedule. Appointments that we made. I
want to get this wedding over with." With that she
pushed past him toward the car, calling a hasty thank
you to Mrs. Richards. 


"Look after her Mr. Rabb," Mrs. Richards spoke up,
watching her fumble with the door handle and then
finally make her way inside. 


"Ma'am?" 


"She's hurting, and I don't mean just from her wrist.
Her eyes are troubled, and there's something in her
manner..." 


"Being about to marry an idiot would...I'm sorry, that
was out of line. The man she's marrying is not a bad
guy. She doesn't love him that's all." 


"Well maybe she'll see that herself if she did not
feel she had to defend him to you," Mrs. Richards
smiled gently. "Be safe driving. I wish you would
stay." 


"Thank you," he said slowly, her words pounding into
his brain. He actually said very little about Mic to
her, but his attitude was not a secret and it did in
fact may her go on the defensive. 


She was staring out the side window when he got into
the car, and before he could open his mouth to speak
she hissed, "don't even start." 


"I didn't plan to," he growled, gunning the engine and
putting the big SUV into reverse. The tires spun
wildly on the icy pavement and they shot backwards out
of the driveway, barely missing a large oak tree
before he could halt it. 


"Nice maneuver Ace," she chortled. "I hope I'm around
next time you fly." 


"God must have totaled up every time I've cussed in my
life and sent this day as punishment," he groaned,
putting the car into drive to pull it forward, only to
find the back wheels had gone into the ditch and were
now spinning uselessly in the slick grass. 


"Well let's go," she told him, barely containing her
amusement. 


"I'm going to get out and push while you gently give
it some gas here," he said, with effort keeping his
voice calm. 


"I'll do it--push I mean," she offered. 


"I don't think so. Little you is not going to push
this beast, and that's the last thing you need with
your wrist. Just do what I tell you for once." 


"You are not my boss," she hissed as if she was five
years old. Nevertheless she got out and once he
exited, climbed into the driver's seat. 


"Little gas," he cautioned, "low gear. When I say
now." 


He positioned himself behind the SUV, putting his
shoulder against the rear and hollered for her to go.
Gingerly she pressed the pedal and felt the vehicle
move forward slightly. A second later the tires spun
and all progress was lost as it fell back down. 


"Try again," she called, her head out the window.
There was no answer, only the wind howling. "Harm?
Harm what's wrong?" She opened the door and flung
herself to the rear of the truck, finding him sprawled
on his back, gasping for breath. 


It took her only a second to realize when the heavy
vehicle fell back it had knocked him down, leaving him
dazed and winded. 


She was down beside him at once, not sure whether to
help him up or make him lie still. "Where are you
hurt?" she asked, trying to keep calm. 


"I'm not," he groaned, disgusted with himself. "I
just....just lost my breath is all." At the same time
he was struggling to sit up and she pulled him up part
way, helping him to lean forward slightly as she
rubbed his back. 


"Slow deep breaths," she coaxed. "Did it hit you hard?
You could have cracked ribs or something." 


"Just wasn't ready for it," he panted. "I'm OK. Let's
try it again, or we'll be sitting here all night." 


"OK but I'm pushing," she told him. "If you did hurt
yourself you're going to make it worse doing that.
I'll be careful of my arm. Besides it's more a matter
of angle and physics than brute strength anyway." 


"You think so do you? OK Jarhead, have a go, and then
when you realize you can't, I'll take it back." 


"Someday they're going to bottle your ego," she
sighed, helping him to his feet and despite her
frustration with him, kept a firm arm around him in
her concern. 


"Mac please be careful," he begged as he accepted her
assistance into the driver's seat. 


"Leave it to the Marines please," she told him, and
with a different approach, her back to it, her feet
braced, she was able to apply enough force. The SUV
groaned its way forward and shortly was resting level.



Harm leaped from the car to check her, finding her
standing in the ditch watching the progress. "Nice
job," he said grudgingly, offering his hand to her.
"Shall we head home?" 


"Please" Mac sighed as she took his hand. 


They climbed into the SUV and started back on the
road. "You know this is crazy" Harm muttered as he
drove cautiously through the town towards the highway.



"What is crazy?" 


"Not spending the night here" Harm retorted. "Mac,
this is only getting worse and the highway is going to
be slow moving. Course everyone in their right minds
is home or at the nearest hotel." 


"We'll we're not in our right minds remember" Mac said
irritably. "I'm just the crazy woman who's wearing the
ring of a man she doesn't love." 


"Mac" 


"Save it Rabb" Mac snapped. "You've made your feelings
pretty well known. And I'll thank you to keep the rest
of your opinions to yourself." 


"Fine I will" Harm snapped back. "And while we're at
it, I think we should go back to that no talking
policy. We seem to get along much better that way." 


"Fine by me" Mac said as she stared out the side
window. 


Fortunately the freeway was pretty much empty and Harm
cautiously maneuvered the SUV along the icy roads. The
sleet and freezing rain showed no signs of letting up
and he lowered his speed even more as the windy
mountain freeway iced even more. It took a long hour
to get but a short ways on the freeway and he sighed
as he looked over at Mac. 


"I suppose you want to pull over," Mac said irritably.



"Mac, we'll be lucky if we get home by midnight" Harm
sighed. "It's been a long day. We'll get up early in
the morning and head back so you won't miss any of
your important appointments. Is that acceptable?" 


"Let's see how it is once we pass the next exit" Mac
countered. "If it hasn't eased up by then we'll stop.
Okay." 


"Yeah whatever" Harm growled as he kept his eyes
forward. The mountain turns were dangerous as night,
and even more so in the icy conditions. He'd traveled
this road enough times to know that if you lost
control and went over, it was a long way down. 


It was another long hour until the next exit and there
was no sign of it letting up. 


"Next town pull off" Mac sighed as she pulled out her
cell phone. "I'll call Mic and tell him I'll be back
at 7:00 tomorrow." She dialed the number to Mic's
apartment, waiting while it rang. 


"Hello" 


"Mic, is me" she said quickly. 


"Sarah where the bloody hell are you?" Mic demanded.
"I've been worried sick about you. I saw the weather
reports about the storm." 


"We're just outside of Winchester" Mac sighed. "And
it's pretty bad here so we're going to pull off at the
next town and find a room for the night." 


"You mean rooms don't you" 


"Room, rooms, what does it matter Mic" Mac snapped and
Harm took his eyes off the road just long enough to
glance over at her. She quickly turned away and Harm
returned his eyes to the road ahead. "Do you not trust
me?" 


"Yes Sarah I trust you" Mic sighed. "What about
tomorrow and all of our appointments?" 


"I'll be back for them" Mac promised. "We'll leave
first thing in the morning and I'll be home by 7:00." 


"All right" Mic pouted. "As long as your home by then.
And you will be getting your own room right?" 


"Mic, we're going to find the first place to spend the
night. If the place only has one room available, I'm
not going to make Harm sleep in his car." 


"Gee thanks" Harm muttered under his breath. 


"Yeah, I guess you couldn't do that" Mic sighed. "I
guess I'll see you in the morning then. I love you
Sarah." 


"Me too" Mac whispered before hanging up. 


"Can't say I love you, can you?" Harm taunted. It was
late and he was tired and he couldn't help the words
that tumbled out. 


"It's none of your business" Mac snapped. "My life is
not up for discussion, Commander. So kindly keep out
of it." 


"Gladly" Harm retorted. "Can you keep your eyes open
for the next exit please?" The roads were getting
worse by the second and he wanted to get off the
freeway as quickly as possible. 


She didn't reply but turned her head to the window,
keeping her eyes peeled for the exit. They started
down one of the hills when suddenly they hit a patch
of the freeway that had iced over, the SUV spinning
wildly out of control. 


"Harm" Mac screamed as she realized they were heading
straight towards the guardrail. He tried to slow the
SUV, but there was little he could do. 


"Mac" he cried as the SUV broke through the guardrail,
plummeting down the side of the mountain. The last
thing Harm remembered was Mac screaming his name as
the car flipped several times as it made its way down.
His head impacted hard with the side window and the
darkness swallowed him. 


It was the cold and pain that brought Mac back to
consciousness, her body hurting everywhere, the pain
in her abdomen more intense than anywhere else. She
forced her eyes open as she tried to remember what had
happened. Harm. His name came out in a gasp as she
remembered the accident. She turned her head quickly,
regretting the move almost immediately as her partner
swam before her. She closed her eyes again as the
dizziness passed and when she opened them again this
time the world was still. 


"Harm" she cried as she looked over at him. He wasn't
moving and she could see the blood dripping from the
side of his head. "Harm, oh god, don't you dare die on
me." She started to unbuckle her seat belt so she
could get out, but as she moved, so to did the car.
She froze in place as the car teetered for a moment
before finally stopping. It was then that she realized
they hadn't made it the whole way down the mountain,
instead the car had come to a rest at the edge of one
of the lower cliffs. "Dear Lord, please let him be
okay" she whispered, knowing there was little she
could do at this point. If she moved again, the car
could go plummeting the rest of the way down the
mountain. Willing herself to stay calm, she reached
her hand as far as she dared, finally reaching and
finding his pulse. "Thank you Lord" she whispered, the
first hurdle conquered. He was alive and that was all
that mattered for now. Her hand found his and she
wrapped hers around it. "Harm, I'm here" Mac
whispered. "I'm going to need your help to get us out
of this one." There was no response from him and she
bit back a sob as she tried to remain calm. But her
own pain wasn't helping and the tears slowly slid down
her face as the gravity of their situation hit her. 


She was on attempt to calm deep breath number four
when Harm started to move, his free arm flailing
wildly. "Mac we're crashing. Mac hold on. God keep her
safe." 


His last words sent a lump to her throat as she knew
they came from his heart. "Harm--Harm it's OK. Please
you've got to be still," she said firmly. "Open your
eyes now. I'm right here." Her hand squeezed his as
hard as she could and with her other hand she caught
arm. "Calm now. Please." To emphasize her words, the
SUV rocked several times before becoming still. 


"Mac? What happened? My head...my god we...we went
over the side didn't we?" Consciousness returned to
him in one rush. 


"Oh yeah," she said softly, "and unlike Russia we
didn't have the punch-out option. We are at this
moment just barely stable on the side of the mountain,
so you've got to keep still." 


He took a moment to digest that news. "No. We've got
to get out...I've got to get you out of here." Again
he started to move and again the car responded. 


"Harm stop," she ordered firmly. "Neither of us are
going anywhere. It's pitch black out there. I can't
see anything but black below us. I just know we're not
at all safe right now. And that we're rocking. There
could be three feet of air to the bottom of this
valley, or three hundred. I don't know how far we
fell." 


He ceased all movement and his hands tightened on
hers. "How bad are you hurt? Let me see." Before she
could respond he attempted to check her over. She
pushed his hands away before they got to her abdomen.
"I'm fine. At least I'm not bleeding. Unlike you. Your
head must be killing you." 


"Yeah a little," he admitted. "But right now it's just
important that we get out of here. Cell phone?" 


"Mine was here on the console and obviously god knows
where right now," she murmured. "Could be anywhere in
here and neither of us is going to take off our belts
and look for it. Yours?" 


"I didn't put mine back in my pocket either," he
admitted. "I just kind of threw it down in disgust.
How could I be so stupid. I'm sorry. And I'm sorry
about this. I don't know what happened. I'm sorry. I
should have been more careful. I'm sorry." 



"If you say sorry once more, you're going to have
something to really be sorry about," she warned, half
teasingly, half seriously. "It wasn't your fault. The
roads were bad and you hit a slick spot. All that
matters now is that we're OK, and that we get out of
here." 


He attempted to turn and look out of his window,
cringing at the car's motion. "Mac we're not going to
be able to move much at all. It must be resting with
its wheels in space and hung up on the bottom." 


"Yeah I figured that," she agreed and gingerly reached
for the lever of the glove box. "Bet Renee has tissue
in here," she smiled and sure enough there was a small
box. "OK, carefully lean this way Sailor and let me
see if I can mop up some of that blood." 


"There's a first aid kit in the back end," he sighed. 


She shook her head and pressed a wad of tissue to his
cut and as she did so, reached up to turn on one of
the map lights. "I don't know how long it will last
but at least we have that." As best she could she
inspected the cut, and then remembered the bottle of
water she had in her case, which she had been carrying
on her lap and which was still within easy reach. "OK
let's take a better look." She could not help but gasp
when she got all the blood cleaned away. 


"That good huh," he smiled slightly. 


"No that bad," she murmured. "That's going to need
stitches, and you surely have at least a mild
concussion. I lost you there for a couple minutes."
With gentle hands she cleaned his face as best she
could until he pushed her away. 


"Quit fussing. I'm OK." 


A small gasp of pain escaped her when she leaned back
in her seat. 


"Mac what? You told me you weren't hurt." Frantically
he reached for her, making the car rock precariously. 


"Be still," she ordered sharply. In truth the pain in
her abdomen was slowly building, attributable to
bruising from being held in place by the seatbelt she
felt. Not serious, and nothing could be done about it
anyway. 


"I'm just sore where the belt grabbed me when we fell
that's all. Nothing to worry about." 


"I do worry where you're concerned," he reminded her.
"I worry a great deal. Why do you think I'm worried
about you and Brumby and this marriage?" 


"Excuse me?," she gasped, his admission taking her by
surprise. "You're worried about me?" 


"Of course," he answered. "Mac the man...OK I'm not
going to say anything bad about him because I don't
have anything against him as a human being.." He
paused to gather his thoughts and under his breath
added 'except that he's got you'. "I mean he's had his
decent moments. But Mac what I said earlier, I stand
by. I don't believe you love him." 


"And you think you know me enough to make that
assessment?" 


"Yeah I do," he grinned, his normal self assurance
surfacing. "I think I do. I think you took a ring from
him to get my attention." 


"Whoa wait just a second Flyboy," she objected. "You
honestly think I've been the past year of my life
living some kind of plot to make you jealous? You've
got much too high an opinion of yourself you know
that. This ring is about me, and about my future and
about not being alone and about a home and family." 


"It's supposed to be about love," he whispered. 


"What's love got to do with anything?" she said dryly,
repeating the words he'd said to her nearly two years
ago when he walked out of her life. 


"I don't know" Harm sighed as he closed his eyes
against the merciless pounding in his head that was
making him sick to his stomach. "Never mind." 


"Harm you okay?" she asked anxiously as she watched
his eyes close. "Harm." 


"I'm all right. Just trying to block out some of the
pounding." 


"Sorry" Mac whispered. "I shouldn't have said that." 


He was silent for a moment before turning his head and
looking over at her. "Where did it all go wrong Mac?"
he whispered. "Where did we lose each other?" 


"You really want to know?" she asked softly and he
nodded. "The day you walked out of JAG I lost my best
friend. I lost the person I'd come to count on being
there for me. You were gone. And I didn't understand
why flying a forty-million dollar airplane was more
important than me." 


"I didn't either" Harm sighed. "It was just something
I had to do. And nobody seemed to understand that.
Least of all you. And when I returned, well so much
for best friends." 


"I treated you badly I know" Mac said quietly. 


"The worst part was seeing you and Brumby together,"
Harm admitted. "I felt like he was your new best
friend and I was just the guy you used to work with." 


"You were never that. You really think after all we'd
been through I'd think of you that way." 


"We're a long way away from those days" Harm sighed.
"A very long way." 


"We had quite a bond back then didn't we?" Mac said
softly as she reached for his hand. 


"Yes we did" Harm agreed. "Course that bond was there
from the moment we met." 


"You hated me" Mac scoffed. 


"Oh no, if anyone hated anyone it was you that hated
me" Harm countered. "You were ready to throw me to the
wolves in the desert when we went after your uncle.
And for the record, I never hated you. You just threw
me for a loop. Besides looking like Diane, I'd never
met anyone like you before." 


"You mean someone who didn't fall under the flyboy
spell" Mac teased. "I guess I was a little rough on
you at first. But I never hated you. I helped you
aboard the chopper didn't I?" 


"Yeah and I bet you've been regretting that move for
the past five years" Harm grinned despite the pain. 


"Never" Mac whispered. "We may have had our
differences but I've never regretted having you as my
partner." 


"Me neither" Harm whispered. "Mac, I.." He started
before clamping his hand over his mouth, unable to
keep the nausea down any longer. He turned as far away
from her as he could before he vomited. 


"Harm" Mac cried anxiously. 


"Sorry" he whispered without turning around to face
her. "I couldn't help it." 


"It's okay" she soothed as she reached over and gently
rubbed his back. "I know you couldn't help it." She
tried to keep the panic out of her voice, knowing this
was just the first sign that Harm had a concussion.
And without proper medical attention, she knew it
would only get worse. 


He finally turned back around to face her and she
didn't miss the paleness in his face. "Harm, talk to
me. Are you okay?" 


"I'm okay," he said weakly as he closed his eyes. 


"Oh no, you keep those green eyes open" Mac ordered.
"Harm, I mean it." The last thing she needed was for
him going to sleep and not wake up. 


"Mac" Harm moaned. 


"Harm, you are not going to sleep. Now start talking
to me." 


"Okay" Harm sighed. "I'll talk. Pick a topic." 


"Us" Mac said softly. "And the good times we had
before it all went to hell. Remember the day we
ditched work and went flying in Sarah." 


"Like I'm ever going to forget that. Getting you shot
was not in my plans that day." 


"Yes but you got me out of there safely" Mac
whispered. "I never doubted you would." 


"Well I have my doubts now" he sighed as he looked
over at her, just in time to see her grimace in pain
as she put her hand to her abdomen. "Mac, what's
wrong?" 


"Nothing" she said as she took a deep breath. "I'm
fine." 


"You sure as hell don't look fine," Harm shouted,
momentarily forgetting his own pain in light of her
obvious distress. "Mac." 


"Harm, calm down" Mac ordered. "The last thing you
need to do is get upset like that. Please, I'm okay.
It just hurts a little." 


"You'll tell me if it gets any worse" Harm demanded. 


"And what are you going to do if it does?" Mac
questioned softly. "Harm, there's nothing either of us
can do until someone finds us. So the best thing we
both can do is stay calm." 


He knew she was right but seeing her in pain was not
something he could handle for long. The day in the
mountains with the poachers had been bad enough. "I'm
sorry" he whispered. "I can't stand to see you
hurting. Do you know how hard it was for me that day
when you got shot?" 


"No, you kept giving me the this is why they don't let
women in the military speech" Mac reminded him. 


"That's because I was scared. Scared I wasn't going to
get you out of there. If anything had happened to you
that day, God I don't know what I would have done." 


"Careful Harm, you're getting sappy on me" Mac teased.



"I'm serious Mac" Harm sighed. "That was the worst
moment of my life. Well not quite the worst." His mind
wandered back to the Watertown, of her limp body in
his arms. That had been real fear. 


"What are you thinking about?" Mac prodded. 


"The moment I lost you on the Watertown" Harm
whispered. "When you died in my arms." 


"I don't remember a whole lot of that except my eyes
burning like they were being blow-torched," she
sighed. "I remember waking up in your arms though, and
thinking I had...." 


"Had what?" he prodded. 


"No way," she smiled softly. No way was she going to
admit she thought she had died and gone to heaven at
that moment. No way she was going to tell him
something that sappy. 


"I thought I had died," she said quietly. "It was
actually kind of odd, because I could see you
breathing life back into me, and I could...," she
stopped again and he waited once more for her to
continue. 


"Could what? Talk to me Mac," he urged, having heard a
tone in her voice he had never heard before. 


"Promise me you won't laugh and make Twilight Zone
jokes," she begged, because for the first time in over
two years since that time, she was allowing herself to
remember exactly what happened and the memory was
awe-filled. 


"Just tell me will you," he whispered, squeezing her
hand and not releasing it. 


"I saw you and me. I was there, outside myself and I
saw you holding me, saw you breathing into me, saw the
panic on your face. My God that's not something I've
thought of since it happened. I put it all out of my
mind till just now." 


"That would mean you...you died...for those seconds
until you breathed again, you were dead," he
whispered, in awe now himself. "And you were...oh God
you were about to leave me." A strong shudder passed
through him and he held even more tightly to her hand.
"Tell me you didn't see the light everyone talks
about. That you didn't get that far away from me." 


"No I didn't," she replied softly. "You didn't let me.
Remember?" 


He looked blank for a moment, his face in
concentration. "You're damn right I didn't let you. In
my mind I was begging you, ordering you, not to go.
Telling you that if you came back I would...," He
stopped again, struggling with his memory, and
struggling as to how much of that memory he wanted to
reveal to her. 


"You told God if He allowed me to live, you would tell
me how you felt," she said in quiet realization. 


"No I didn't, not exactly," he tried and she simply
smiled at him, the memory now firmly planted within
her. 


"Yes you did, exactly," she smiled again. "Your mind's
exact words--and I heard them as plain as I hear you
when you're haranguing a witness--God let her live,
let her come back to me and I promise you I'm going to
tell her exactly how I feel about her. Familiar
counselor?" 


"Yeah," he sighed. "But I didn't remember that, not
until just now. Honest." 


"I believe you," she sighed as well. "I didn't
remember it either. I just remember waking and
coughing and you holding me, and then the XO found us
and..." 


"My promise went totally out of my mind. We came back
to JAG, and for a while things were good between us,"
he finished for her. "Until I got that bug up my six
that I had to fly. You told me I couldn't go back.
That I couldn't go home again. You were so right." 


"Are you sorry you went?" 


"Yeah," he answered much to her surprise. 


"You're kidding." 


"Well not sorry for the experience. Because it's one
of the few positives I've had in the last two years. I
try to focus on what I accomplished while I was there,
and that the Navy saw fit to present me with another
DFC, not that I had to give in that I was ten years
out of my time." He took a long breath, about to make
another admittance. "I am sorry I went for what it
cost in our friendship." 


"Well that was my fault as much as yours," she
groaned. "I was still sulking when you came back." 


"Well I was doing my share of that," he smiled. "I
wanted so bad for things to be back to normal and they
weren't and I guess that's why Renee appealed to me.
Everything was out of kilter. And then along comes
this woman who's out of kilter too." 


"She makes you happy," she said softly, a new
appreciation for the blonde coming over her. 


"She's fun," he smiled again, knowing he had said that
before. "She keeps the loneliness away." 


"And your bed warm." Mac could not resist the jab. 


"As Brumby does yours," Harm returned in kind. 


"Yes he does," she agreed quietly, releasing his hand
to gently run her fingertips along his jaw line. "I
get lonely too." 


He thought that over for a moment. "You were telling
me that the day I left, and again months later in
Sydney Harbor. But I wasn't listening..well I was, but
I wasn't..." 


"I know now that you weren't ready to hear," she
nodded. "Harm you need to know something though. I
wasn't offering you my bed for the weekend. I was
offering you...telling you that I wanted...." 


"I knew exactly what you were doing," he hooted. "My
God Mac why do you think I said what I did about being
that way only with you. If you had been saying let's
jump in the sack I would have been going--we haven't
left yet? You were telling me it was time that you and
I stopped waiting, stopping putting off, stopped
pretending there was nothing between us." 


"Where was that clarity then?" she asked gently. 


"Hidden behind my fear," he said in a moment of
breathtaking honesty. 


"Fear of what?" Mac prodded. 


"Fear of everything" Harm sighed. "Of wrecking a
friendship that was already on the edge. Fear of
ruining the best partnership I'd ever known. Of course
if I'd known Brumby's ring was going to end up on your
finger the next day I would have reacted differently."



"What would you have done?" 


"I don't know" Harm said honestly. "I'd like to think
I wouldn't have shut you out like I did. All I know is
that after that everything was wrong between us." 


"Yes it was" Mac sighed. "And neither of us knew what
to do to fix it. I was too hurt by you slamming the
door in my face and you were too afraid to do
anything." 


"And that's how we ended up at this point" Harm said
quietly. "Bickering with each other over stupid
stuff." 


"I hate fighting with you" Mac admitted with a small
smile. "I think back to all went through for each
other during the years and wonder how we managed to
degrade our relationship to what it has become." 


"You were there for me through a lot" Harm said as he
reached for her hand. "More than anyone else I've ever
known. The whole search for my Dad, I would never have
gotten through that without you, Mac. If it weren't
for you I probably wouldn't have made it out of Russia
alive the first time." 


"Like I would have let you go to Russia alone" Mac
scoffed. "You were running on pure emotion without a
care as to what happened to you. Someone had to look
out for you since you weren't looking out for
yourself. After our investigation on the Hornet, you
were like a man possessed." 


"You know what I remember most about the investigation
on the Hornet?" Harm said softly. "Besides Falcon
stealing the book." 


"Do tell Commander?" 


"How jealous I was that you were flirting with Falcon.
And how smitten he was with you." 


"You were jealous?" Mac asked with amazement. "Of
Mark?" 


"Well you seemed to enjoy his company a lot" Harm
sighed. 


"You were the one who ordered me to go out with him"
Mac countered. "Which I should never have done. I
should never have left you that day." 


"I'm a little fuzzy about that one. I just remember
following the Lt. to his quarters." 


"You have no idea how scared I was when Mark took me
back to our quarters and you weren't there" Mac
whispered. "And then we had to search the ship for
you." 


"You were worried about me?" 


"Harm you'd been lying unconscious for hours." 


"I remember waking up and you cradling my head in your
lap" Harm said softly. 


"I was scared to death you were seriously hurt" Mac
whispered. "And it was my fault for leaving you." 


"You had no choice, I ordered you to go" Harm said
softly. "And it wasn't your fault." 


"Well you can say that but I still should never have
left you in that condition. I should have.." she
stopped as she looked over at Harm, his eyes closing
and his head lolling forward. "Harm" she cried, gently
shaking his arm. "Harm, don't do this too me. Come on
sailor, stay with me." There was no response from him
and she tried to fight the growing wave of panic.
"Please Harm, I need you" Mac whispered. A sob escaped
her, realizing there was nothing she could do. "Please
Lord, let him be okay" Mac prayed. 


For the next hour she did her best to keep her panic
in check as she fought the growing cold and her own
pain that seemed to be getting worse as the time went
on. She closed her eyes as she tried to block out it
all out, issuing prayer after prayer to the Man above
that somehow they would get out of this alive. 


She was lightly dozing when Harm began to moan. At
once she forced herself awake, reaching over to gently
shake his arm. 


"Harm, wake up" she said gently. "Harm, it's Mac. Can
you hear me?" 


It was several minutes before he was able to push his
eyes open again, turning his head and looking at her
with a dazed expression. 


"Mac what happened?" he asked tiredly. 


"We were talking and you decided to leave me for a
while" Mac whispered as she felt the tears brimming.
"Do you remember?" 


"Sorry" Harm said as he reached for her hand, giving
it a long squeeze. 


"I'm just glad you're with me again" Mac said softly.
"God, Harm, I was so scared. I couldn't do anything.."
Her voice broke and the tears started to slid down her
face. 


"Shh, it's okay" Harm said gently, reaching his hand
to her face to wipe away the tears. "I'm with you
again." 


"Just don't scare me again like that" Mac whispered.
"One minute you're talking and the next you're totally
out." 


"I can't promise it won't happen again" Harm sighed as
he looked over at her. "How you holding up?" 


"Cold, tired and hurting" she admitted and his eyes
widened in alarm. Mac never admitted she was in pain
unless she was really hurting. 


"Where are you hurting?" Harm demanded. "Your
abdomen?" 


"Yes" she sighed. 


"Mac, we have to get you out of here. You could have
internal injuries." 


"Harm, there's nothing you can do" Mac reminded him
quietly. "Remember neither of us can move. Please
don't worry. I'm sure it's not that bad." 


"Internal bleeding is very bad Mac" Harm whispered,
fear for her now overwhelming him. 


"I know, and I'm trying not to think about it thank
you" she said quietly. "Just like I'm trying not to
think about the fact that you were unconscious for
over an hour. It's not going to do either of us any
good to worry about it when there's nothing we can do
but wait for someone to find us." 


"There has to be something I can do" Harm moaned. "I
can't just sit here knowing you could be dying right
in front of me." 


"Harm stop it" Mac ordered sharply. "No one is dying
tonight. We are both going to get through this." 


"God Mac, I'm so scared" Harm admitted. "The last time
I was this scared for you was in the desert in Iran. I
hated leaving you. I wasn't sure I was going to see
you again." 


"And you don't think I was scared to know you were
flying a plane who's computer could fry out at any
moment" Mac whispered. 


" I figured between Faisal and Keeter they kept your
mind off me," he grinned. 


"I threatened Keeter with death if he reported my
un-Marine like attitude," she confessed, laughing
lightly. "He was witness to my episodes of terror
worrying what happened to you. The first night I woke
up screaming. In my nightmare the Stealth exploded mid
flight." 


"Well it came close," he admitted, much to her
surprise. "But I landed, and then want to hear
something funny--I threatened Bud the same way if he
reported how frantic I was." 


There was silence for a moment and she spoke up again.
"There on the desert, saying goodbye--I came so close
to telling you. My mouth was right by your ear and we
were hugging hard, and I came so close to saying that
I...well you know." 


"Of course I know, because I nearly did the same
thing," he laughed. "I was about to tell you that
I...well you know...and that if you failed to make the
rendezvous point I'd be back, and I'd turn every rock
on that desert until I found you again." 


"And we went home, and everything calmed down, and
things were good between us," she sighed. "We were
friends, close friends again. Ragle was behind me, we
had survived the desert, and then came Christmas and
Jordan." 


"But things were still good between us," he
remembered. "Even after I started seeing her. I mean
she didn't seem to be an obstacle to us being friends,
not like Renee and Brumby." 


"No, but then I was different then. I was happy with
your friendship, and you seemed so happy with Jordan.
So I was fine with that. I was still getting over
Ragle, and even Dalton, and for a while it was OK. It
wasn't until toward the end, that Spring, when I saw
Harriet about to give birth, and of course your
decision to leave, and suddenly I needed more. And
then several months later, believing what Jordan had
told me, we went to Sydney. And I was ready for more.
And like I told you before, that's when I knew Jordan
was wrong." 


"At the time she told you that, she was very right,"
he corrected her. "A sign from you, and had flying not
been on the horizon, things could have been very
different now." 


"Had you not been leaving, you would have had that
sign," she admitted and took a deep breath. "Speaking
of signs--the dock at Norfolk. The kiss. Were you
saying goodbye to Diane with that?" 


"Mac I don't think I want to....," he started and then
shook his head. "No I do want to go there. Yes I was
telling her goodbye." 


"Thought so," she nodded and looked away. "Thanks for
telling me anyway." 


Moving carefully he turned her face back toward him.
"I was telling Diane goodbye. And you hello. The past
was done, and I was telling you I was ready for our
future. I just didn't make myself very clear. And then
of course by the time we were back in D.C., well as
always with us, the moment had passed." 


Very gingerly she leaned slightly closer to him,
resting her hand and the back of his neck. Praying
this would not be a repeat of Sydney, she whispered
"Would the Flyboy care to try again?" 


His mouth fell open slightly, and he realized what it
had cost her in courage to invite him into her heart
and risk being pushed away again. His body seemed to
turn to ice. The same ice he felt on the ferry. "No
not again," he vowed, and ignoring her quizzical
expression, leaned in her direction. Their lips
touched, feather light at first, and the as each drew
strength and courage from the other, the kiss widened
and deepened. 


"Just like I remember," she whispered when they had to
stop to breathe. "It's something you do very...Harm?
Harm you still with me? Harm answer me." With each
word her voice level increased. Frantically with a
shaking hand, she felt for a pulse and checked his
breathing, both of which were there but seemed to her
weaker. "Please God, please don't let anything happen
to him. You've led us so close here--you've let us get
almost there. Don't do that to us--don't let us see
the end and then take it away form us." 


His head lolled on her shoulder and she attempted to
support him, her fingers stroking the side of his
cheek as she did so. Another hour passed and she dozed
fitfully, keeping his head against her. With the first
sign of the sky lightening, she felt him stir and he
moaned softly. 


"About time Sailor," she sighed in relief. "Come on
now open up those eyes and this time try to stay with
me. She lifted his head from her shoulder, holding him
with gentle palms to either side. 


"Mac!" His consciousness returned with a start and he
jumped, flailing his arms wildly. The car gave a
violent lurch, moving forward a good foot before
settling again. She clung to him in terror, steeling
herself for the crash to the floor of the valley that
did not come, and a second later in the pain that
followed the car's motion, for the belt bit sharply
into her abdomen as it jerked to a stop. She cried out
and the sound ripped his heart from its moorings.
Another second and she was still, her upper body lying
limply in his arms. 


He was sure she was dead, so pale and still. For a
long minute he could only hold her, afraid to check
and know for sure. Finally, as she had done earlier,
his hand shaking so bad it would barely function, he
checked first her breathing and then her pulse,
finding both. 


"Mac please, please....please Sarah," he whispered. 


Somehow him calling her Sarah broke through to her and
she murmured his name. 


"Come on Sarah," he whispered again, sensing it was
that word that had reached her. "We're going to be OK.
It's getting light, and the storm is over. Surely as
soon as people start moving they'll see us down here."
As she had done to him, he lifted her head and her
eyes opened barely half way. "Don't you do this to
me," he begged. "I need you too bad in my life to let
you go easily. You stay with me now." 


She barely nodded and he smiled softly, cradling her
head on his shoulder. They were quiet for a moment
until he spoke softly. "Sarah was I dreaming or...did
we...you and me did we?" He stammered, remembering the
kiss, and trying to fathom its reality. 


"Kissed," she whispered, herself remembering, and also
remembering that he lost consciousness just after. "We
did." 


"I'm glad," he sighed, feeling his grip on
consciousness beginning to fade again. "In case
we...we don't make it back. I don't want to die
without you knowing how I feel." 


Her eyes closed as well, the gray dawn beginning to
darken around her. "I do know," she whispered,
touching her finger to his lips. "I love you too." 


"I love you Sarah" he whispered as fought against the
growing darkness. "I've loved you since the day I saw
you in the Rose Garden." 


His words forced her to open her eyes, the words she'd
wanted to hear for so long finally coming from his
lips. "Me too" she said softly. "And as much as we
both tried to fight it…" 


"You can't fight fate, Sarah" he said as he pressed
his lips to her forehead. "We belong together. It just
took us a while to figure it out." 


"Are we too late?" she whispered as she felt herself
slipping away again. "Did we take too long to figure
it out?" 


"If I die holding you in my arms knowing you loved me,
then I'll die a happy man" Harm sighed. "No matter
what happens Sarah, don't forget how much I love you."
He lost the battle to stay awake, his head lolling
against her shoulder. 


"Never" Mac whispered, pressing her lips to his one
last time before she too felt herself drift away. 


********************************************* 

The driver of the big rig had seen the broken
guardrail and had pulled off as soon as he could,
knowing that with the bad weather the night before
someone might have gone over the side. He climbed down
from his rig and hurried to the spot where the
guardrail was missing, letting out a gasp when he saw
the SUV teetering dangerously on the edge of one of
the other cliffs. He hurried back to the rig and
called the Virginia State Police. 


A short time later the area was full of police and
rescue personnel. 


"We're going to need to pull that vehicle up before we
can get to the occupants" one of the rescue personnel
yelled as he survey the situation. "Even if we go in
from the back, it might send it over the side." 


The others nodded and a short time later they held
their breaths as the tow truck pulled the SUV up
enough so that all four wheels were on the bottom
ledge, the paramedics quickly making their way down to
the battered vehicle. 


*********************************************** 

JAG HQ's
08:30 AM EST



"Tiner have you seen my fiancee?" Mic yelled as he
came off the elevator. "The last time I heard from her
she was with Rabb." 


"No Mr. Brumby" Tiner replied. "I haven't seen either
one of them today." 


"Mic, what's the problem?" AJ asked as he came out of
his office, having heard Mic's yelling. 


"I'm looking for Sarah. She called last night and said
her and Harm were going to spend the night somewhere
because the weather was bad. She promised she'd be
here at 7:00 AM." 


"Maybe they got delayed" AJ offered. "Have you tried
calling her cell phone?" 


"Yes, and there's no answer." 


"Tiner, you have Commander Rabb's cell phone number,
don't you?" AJ asked and Tiner nodded. "Call his cell
phone and see if there's any answer. Mic, they
probably got tied up in traffic or something." 


"Yeah, you're probably right" Mic sighed. 


"No answer sir" Tiner called as he hung up the phone.
"Sorry." 


"Mic, I'm sure they'll be along shortly," AJ said
quietly. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for
them being late." 


"I hope so" Mic sighed. "You mind if I hang out here
and wait for awhile. We have a 9:30 with the caterer
and I'm hoping I don't have to cancel." 


"Be my guest" AJ replied. "I'll let you know if I hear
from either of them. But I'm sure they'll be coming
through the door any second now." 


Winchester Hospital
09:00 AM EST



"What have we got?" the emergency room doctor asked as
the gurney carrying Mac came through the double doors.



"Female, early 30's, looks like there's some kind of
internal bleeding in the abdomen. No other external
injuries." 


The second gurney with Harm arrived seconds later, the
other attending physician looking at him. 


"Sarah" Harm moaned as consciousness slowly returned.
She was no longer in his arms. "Sarah, where are you?"



"His passenger" the paramedic supplied. "They were in
each others arms when we found them. His name is
Harm." 


"Harm, we're taking care of Sarah," the young doctor
said as he began to look at the gash on the side of
Harm's head. "I need you to stay calm." 


"Sarah" Harm cried as he opened his eyes, looking up
at the doctor. "She's dead isn't she. She died in my
arms." 


"No Harm, she's not dead," the doctor said gently.
"She's not in good shape right now but we're going to
do our best. But you're not doing so good yourself and
I need you to relax." 


"She's going to die" Harm whispered as he closed his
eyes again, the darkness once again taking over. And
if Mac died, he didn't care what happened. 


"Get him upstairs to the CT lab" the doctor ordered.
"And someone better be notifying the next of kin." 


***************************************** 

JAG HQ's
Same Time



"Admiral, I'm going to get going" Mic said as AJ came
out of his office. "I'm going to go to the caterer's
in case Sarah went straight there." 


"Good idea" AJ replied. "In the meantime, I'll let you
know if I hear from them. You got your cell phone with
you?" 


"Damn I knew I forgot something," Mic said as he
checked his pocket. "I'll call you when I get to the
caterers." 


Mic headed to the elevator and AJ continued on his way
to the break room for another cup of coffee. It wasn't
like Harm and Mac not to call and he was starting to
get worried. After a short conversation with Lt.
Singer he headed back to his office, trying to tell
himself there had to be a good reason Harm and Mac
hadn't called. Besides that they were in trouble. 


"Sir, there's someone from Winchester Hospital on the
line for you" Tiner called. "They said its concerning
Commander Rabb and Colonel Mackenzie." 


"This Admiral AJ Chegwidden" AJ said as he took the
phone from Tiner. 


"Admiral this is Alice at Winchester hospital. You're
the CO of a Commander Harmon Rabb and Colonel Sarah
Mackenzie?" 


"Yes. Has something happened to them?" 


"They were involved in an accident some time last
night" she replied. "They've were brought into the ER
a short time ago." 


"How are they?" AJ demanded. 


"Ms. Mackenzie is in surgery. She has internal
bleeding that they're trying to stop. Mr. Rabb is
being evaluated for a severe head injury." 


"I'm on my way" AJ managed before hanging up. 


"Sir, what happened?" Tiner asked, sensing AJ's
distress. 


"They were in an accident last night. Cancel all my
appointments for the day. I'm going to Winchester. And
when Mic calls give him my cell number. Do not tell
him what happened. I will tell him." 


"Sir, are they going to be okay?" 


"I don't know" AJ said quietly. "I hope so." 


He gathered up his things before speaking again.
"Tiner you and Gunny keep a lid on this place. I'll
call you soon as I know something." 

========================== 

"Mr. Rabb this machine does not take pictures of a
moving target," the CT technician called. "Please sir,
lie still in there. I'll have you out and hopefully
the verdict will be concussion only, but until you're
still we won't know that." 


"I need to get to my partner. I need...." 


"I know, Sarah Mackenzie," the tech told him in
exasperation. "You've mentioned that once or twice.
And you know she's in surgery and even if you were up
and around you couldn't be with her so you might as
well kill the time by letting me do this test. That
way my boss is happy with me, and your partner as you
call her will know that you're OK when you do get to
see her." 


"At least we told each other," he murmured as the
noise of the machine filled his ears. 

==================================== 

Two Hours later
JAG HQ Parking Lot



"Mic this is a pleasant surprise. Here to see Sarah?"
Renee exited her car in the next row just as Mic was
getting out of his. 


"I'd love to see Sarah but no one seems to know where
she is," he growled. "She was supposed to be back at
7AM. We had an appointment to talk to a caterer. She
is no where." He scowled suspiciously. "I don't
suppose you know the answer to where is Rabb?" 


"He's...well they were up near Winchester yesterday
and..." she stammered. "Together of course. I swear
she sees more of him than she does you." 


"Oh of that there's no doubt," he moaned. "But right
now I want some answers." 


"I came to see if I could talk Harm into taking me to
breakfast. I couldn't get out of here last night with
the storm and now it's too late to even bother and
wait---you're telling me they never came back last
night?" 


"Yes ma'am that's exactly what I'm telling you." Mic
took her arm and ushered her inside JAG. 


"Mr. Brumby, Ms. Peterson." Tiner was the first to
spot them. 


"Tiner where?" Mic asked, straight to the point. 


"Sir, wait one please," Tiner answered evenly, dialing
AJ's cell number and then handed him the phone. "Mr.
Brumby, Admiral Chegwidden." 


================================= 

"There is no way in hell I'm staying in that bed while
no one can promise me she's going to come out of the
surgery and be OK," Harm declared, pushed away the
hands of the nurse who was trying to guide him. "I'm
fine. My test was negative." 


"Your test was negative for anything more than a
severe concussion," she muttered. "Mr. Rabb I can't
order you to stay, but if you don't get some rest
you're likely going to collapse." 


"What part of I don't care about me don't you
understand," he yelped. "Now are you going to tell me
where I can find Sarah Mackenzie or should I start
taking this place apart?" 


"Go on down to the surgical waiting room," she gave
in. "And at least sit and rest yourself there until
there's some news of her." 


"Thank you. I'll try," he gasped and ran in that
direction. 


"Normally my patients are wheeled in," the nurse on
duty there frowned at the sight of the wild eyed man,
his head bandaged, and who was panting hard. 


"Sarah Mackenzie," he whispered. "Please." 


Before she could answer, Harm's original nurse
followed him in. "Julie I'm sorry. He's supposed to be
in bed but he just won't. Concussion. Please make him
comfortable here will you." 


The older woman gave him a kindly smile. "I'm guessing
she's someone special?" 


"Only that I love her," he answered with perfect
honesty. "Our car went over the side of the mountain,
but she told me she was OK at first. What's happened
to her, please?" 


"It's not uncommon for an internal injury to take some
time to manifest itself. There would be pain, and that
would increase, and the person would grow weaker from
the bleeding." 


"I should have gotten her out. I should have gotten
her help," he moaned. 


"She's in good hands," Julie smiled. "Now you're going
to sit right over there before you end up on the
floor. They're about done and then you can go be with
her. That's assuming you're still conscious." 

================================= 

I-66, the road to Winchester 


"Renee, they're going to be OK. Try to have a little
faith," Mic told her gently, offering her a kleenex
and trying to keep his eyes on the road at the same
time. 


"Mic I want to," she sniffled softly. "But it's just
all too much. Not just this accident. It's everything
since, well Harm's been...well not the same for a long
time." 


"How so? Since when?" 


"Well frankly since you talked Mac into putting your
ring on her left hand," she sighed and sniffled again.
"At first I thought that would inspire him to--well
you know, that it might mean that it would be time for
he and I. But if anything he's pulling away. And now
this wedding talk you and her are doing has gotten him
even more that way. Not too long ago one day I could
have sworn he called me Mac, and I tried to ask him if
he was in love with her, and if she was his dream girl
and if I was second best." 


Mic drew his breath in sharply. "What did he answer?" 


Renee wiped at her eyes. "He was typically vague.
Typical Rabb. He just pushed the questions aside." 


"You didn't try to pin him down?" 


"I'm not a lawyer," she sobbed softly. "Plus I was
afraid of the answers." 


They were quiet for a long minute until she spoke
again. "Mic he's never once told me that he loved me.
Not even in bed. Not that he had to--to get me there I
mean." Another sob followed. 


"I know," he said. "I mean I know what you're saying.
Sarah has never either. It's like she's not capable of
saying it. No matter how many times I say it to her." 

======================= 


"I'm looking for Harmon Rabb and Sarah Mackenzie" AJ
said to the woman behind the information desk. 


"Third floor surgery" the woman replied. 


"Both of them?" AJ frowned. They had told him Mac was
in surgery, but not Harm. 


"Well, Ms. Mackenzie is in surgery" the woman smiled.
"Mr. Rabb is waiting for her to come out. He's quite a
legend around here already. Refused to stay in his bed
and demanded to wait for her in the surgical ward
despite the fact he has a severe concussion. He must
love her something fierce." 


For a moment AJ just stared at the woman. The two
people who had left JAG HQ's the day before had barely
been speaking to each other. 


"Thank you" he said finally, still shaking his head as
he walked away and headed up to the surgical ward.
"I'm looking for" he started before he saw Harm
sitting in one of the waiting room chairs. "Commander
Rabb what the hell is going on here?" 


"Sir, I'm just waiting for word on Mac" Harm said as
he attempted to stand up, only to have AJ push him
back in the chair when he swayed unsteadily. 


"Sit before you fall" AJ ordered. "Why the hell aren't
you in a hospital bed like you're supposed to be?" 


"I am not going to rest until I know she is okay" Harm
retorted. "I'm fine." 


"Yeah you sure look it" AJ scoffed. "A severe
concussion is nothing to play with Commander. Now I
want you to go to the bed they've set up for you." 


"No" Harm shouted. "I am not leaving her. Not until I
know she is going to be okay." 


"Harm, this is not negotiable," AJ said firmly. "I
know you're concerned about Mac…" 


"You have no idea how I feel," Harm said quietly. "And
with all due respect sir, there is no way in hell
you're going to get me to leave this surgical ward
until I know that Mac is going to be okay." 


"Harm, you need to rest" AJ sighed. "Mac is being
taken care of. And as soon as she's out they'll let
you know. And then you can see her. But until then you
need to rest." 


"I will not leave her" Harm repeated. "She needs to
know I'm here." 


Knowing he was hitting the Rabb brick wall, AJ shook
his head as he sat down. "Why don't you tell me what
happened?" 


"We slid off the highway," Harm said quietly. "The
roads were icy and I lost it going around one of the
curves. We broke through the guardrail and went over
the edge. We were hanging over the edge of one of the
lower cliffs I guess." 


"From what I've heard, I'm guessing you and Mac had a
chance to talk about things" AJ said quietly. 


"Yeah we talked" Harm said softly, remembering the
last words they'd uttered to each other. 


"Harm, she's going to be okay" 


"I thought she was going to die in my arms" Harm
whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "And there
was nothing I could do. I knew she had internal
injuries and there was nothing I could do." He looked
away as his eyes glistened with tears, not wanting his
CO to see what he was feeling." 


"Did you tell her how you felt?" AJ questioned softly.
"Does she know?" 


Harm nodded, not trusting his voice to speak at that
moment. They sat in silence as they waited another
hour for word on Mac. 


"Mr. Rabb" the nurse said as she walked out, and Harm
pushed himself to his feet, swaying so much that AJ
quickly stood up and put out an arm to support him. 


"How is she? Can I see her? Please tell me she's
okay." Harm's words came out in a rush and the nurse
smiled softly. 


"She's out of surgery and the prognosis is good.
She'll be in recovery for a little bit before she's
moved to her room." 


"I need to see her" Harm pleaded, knowing he was
whining and not caring "Please." 


"You need to be in a bed" the nurse replied. "You're
doing yourself no good being up like this." 


"I don't care" Harm shouted. "I want to see her. Why
won't you just let me see her?" 


"Okay, Mr. Rabb, please calm down" the nurse soothed.
"Getting upset is not what you need. If I let you see
her, will you promise you'll at least rest for a
little bit?" 


"Just let me see her" Harm pleaded. 


"This way, Mr. Rabb" she sighed as she turned and
started towards the recovery room. Harm started to
follow her, AJ keeping a hand on his elbow to support
him. 


"She should be coming out of it soon," the nurse said
to Harm as she led him and AJ into Mac's room. AJ led
Harm to the chair beside Mac's bed, gently pushing him
into it. 


"I'll be in the waiting room," AJ said quietly. "I'll
be back to take you to your room in a little bit." 


Harm didn't acknowledge AJ words; instead his
attention was on the woman lying in the bed in front
of him. She looked so pale and weak, and for a moment
he feared that they'd been lying to him when they said
she'd be okay. He reached for her hand, wrapping his
around it. 


"I'm here Sarah" Harm whispered. "And you're going to
be okay. You hear me. You can't check out on me now
that I've finally told you how you feel. It's our
turn, now Sarah. We've gotten past the hard part. You
got me to admit how I feel about you. And I meant
every word I said last night. I love you Sarah and
it's not too late for us." 


It was another long half-hour before she finally began
to stir, the sound of Harm's soothing voice pushing
her to make her way through the fog of medication. 


"Come on Sarah" Harm prodded gently. "Let me see those
big brown eyes I love." 


"Harm" she mumbled, her eyes still closed. 


"I'm right here sweetheart," he said softly. "Just
waiting for you to wake up so I can tell you how much
I love you." 


A small smile came across her face as she finally
forced her eyes open, looking up at Harm's concerned
face. "It wasn't a dream?" 


"No it wasn't Sarah" Harm assured her. "I meant every
word I said last night." 


Realization of what had happened finally came rushing
back and she suddenly grasped his arm. "Harm, are you
okay? Your head. You were unconscious." 


"I'm fine" he assured her, though at the moment it was
anything but the truth. The hours spend worrying about
her were catching up with him, the pounding in his
head having returned with a vengeance. "It's you who's
scared me half to death." 


"Sorry" Mac said softly. "The last thing I remember
was you telling me that no matter what happened to
never forget how much you loved me. And I told you I
never would." 


"Good" Harm said vaguely as he fought a wave of
dizziness that suddenly was taking over. 


*************************************************** 


"Admiral, how is she?" Mic demanded as he and Renee
made their way into the surgical waiting room. "Is she
out of surgery?" 


"Where's Harm?" Renee demanded. "They said he was up
here as well." 


"One at a time people" AJ said sharply. "Mic, to
answer your question, yes she's out of surgery and
expected to be fine. And to answer your question, Harm
is with Mac." 


"Where are they?" Mic and Renee said at the same time
and AJ sighed. 


"This way" 


******************************************** 


"Harm, you okay?" Mac asked as she watched the color
drain out of Harm's face. "Harm" 


"Yeah, I'm…" He started before the world suddenly
blackened around him. 


"Harm" Mac screamed as he slumped forward, his head
coming to rest on her chest. "Harm, answer me." 


He remained still in her arms and she screamed for
help, hoping to get a nurse before turning her
attention back to Harm. "Harm, damn you don't do this
to me" she cried as she tried to cradle his head
against her. "I love you and I know you love me. You
can't leave me know that you've told me you love me." 


At the door the stunned faces of Mic and Renee looked
on in shock. 


"What the bloody hell is going on here," Mic screeched
and strode angrily toward Mac where Harm was still
slumped over her. "Sarah are you so out of your head
on medication that you don't know what you're saying?"



She looked up at her fiance, her surprise momentarily
taking her mind from Harm. Renee had not moved from
the doorway, standing in frozen horror after what she
had heard, added to the sight of Harm passing out. 


"No I'm not. Harm and I..." Mac choked and again tried
to cradle him, finding his dead weight no match for
her in her weakened state. "Mic please. Please help
me." 


Mic shook his head in exasperation and turned to
Renee. "Go out there and drag someone in here. Tell
them we need a stretcher. Now Renee. Move." 


Mic avoided looking at Mac as he lifted Harm from her,
easing him back into the chair and getting a good look
at the bandage on his head. "Why is he not in bed?" 


"He flat refused," AJ supplied as he came in, having
heard Renee's cries for help. "I was about to come
order him to stand down but I see I'm too late. I'm
going to make sure he gets there now though, and stays
put." 


"Harm?" Mac's voice was barely audible as it was
filled with tears. "Harm please...." 


Leaving Harm to AJ, Mic quickly moved to her side.
"Sarah honey it's OK. I'm here now. I don't know
what's going on here, but we're going to get it all
straightened out. I don't know what he's been telling
you, or maybe it was the trauma of what happened, but
I'm here now to take care of you." 


"Harm," she gasped again and Mic cupped her face. 


"You let Renee and these good medical people tend to
him. I'm here for you now." 


Mac stared at him uncomprehendingly, weakly attempting
to push him out of the way in her attempt to reach
Harm. "Please Harm, please be OK," she breathed,
stretching as far as she could until her fingertips
touched his hand and with another effort her fingers
closed around his. "I love you Harm. I love you. Don't
you dare leave me. Not now. Not ever." 


Mic's eyes widened again as she said those words.
"Sarah stop. Don't say that again. I'm your fiance.
I'm the one you love. I know you're under a lot of
strain and that you've suffered a trauma here but this
man is not your future. I am. You and I, together." 


"Don't Mic. Don't even," she said, her voice low and
firm. "This man and I..." 


Before she could continue the orderlies with the
stretcher arrived, followed closely by a doctor who
immediately bent over Harm. "I want this man in bed
immediately," he roared. "I don't know who allowed him
up but I'm sure as hell going to find out. This
hospital could be in line for a major malpractice
suit." 


"Is he going to be OK?" Mac demanded. 


The doctor looked sharply at her. "I'm not making any
promises." 


"Oh God no. Please, please take care of him. He means
everything. He's all that matters. I need him." Her
voice grew more higher pitched with notes of hysteria,
which only increased when they lifted the Naval
Officer, pulling him away from her grasp. "Harm HARM,"
she shrieked. 


"I want her sedated right now," the doctor ordered.
"Before she does some real damage to herself." 


"No NO don't you touch me," Mac screamed, and Mic
leaned over her, taking her hands. "NO. You get away
too. This is your fault. It's all your fault. If you
hadn't made me..." Her voice dissolved into an
unearthly scream and the nurse swiftly injected
sedative into her, effectively calming her. 


"Thank you," Mic sighed and bent over her even more
closely. "Sarah please. This is all going to be OK.
Sleep now. I'll be here when you wake up." 


"I don't...don't want you," she managed to breathe out
before she was still. 


"Sarah you don't know what you're saying," Mic tried,
addressing her now sleeping form. 


"Mic you should listen to what she's trying to tell
you," AJ suggested lightly before hurrying out after
Harm. 


Down the hall Renee was clinging to the doorjamb as
she watched the orderlies settle Harm, listening to
the doctor direct the nurse in what he wanted done. 


AJ watched for a moment himself and then lay a
fatherly hand on her shoulder. "Renee I'm sorry. I
don't know what to say. But he's going to be OK. He's
healthy and strong and he'll come through his--he'll
come back." 


"He won't come back to me I'm afraid," she whispered
and AJ shook his head, not able to disagree with her.
He left her there to walk back to Mac's room, finding
him next to the bed, holding her hand pressed against
his cheek. 


"Mic she'll be OK. She's going to pull through this,"
he called softly, and as he had done to Renee, put a
light hand on the Australian's shoulder. 


"She's all confused and upset right now," he said
quietly. "Soon as she's better, she'll come 'round and
we can get on with our wedding plans." 


AJ gave a long sigh saying nothing. That this man
loved the Marine lying so still and quiet before him
he was sure of. That she was in love with another man
he was also sure of, a man in another hospital bed
down the hall. 


When AJ returned to Harm's room the door was closed
and Renee was standing uncertainly in the hall. "They
won't let me in," she whispered. "He's supposed to
have total quiet." 


"I'm going to get some coffee," he told her gently.
"It's already been a helluva day and it's not even
noon. Come join me." 


"Thanks no. I'm just going to walk down to the end of
the hallway I think to the lounge," she told him
softly. "I need some time." 


On his way to the cafeteria, AJ stopped again at Mac's
door. "Mic she's sleeping. Nothing you can do there,
but Renee could maybe use some support. She's pretty
confused right now." 


"As am I," he answered. 


"I know--and at this point it may be that you and her
can be there for each other. I think both of you are
going to need that and I know you don't want to
believe it, but..." He left his thought unfinished as
he walked off, secure in the knowledge that at some
point Mic and Renee would have to face up to the bond
that held Sarah Mackenzie and Harmon Rabb together; a
bond that transcended friendship and even love in its
strength. 

================================= 

Renee sat at the window, crying softly, staring into
the soft rain that was falling, and did not hear Mic
approach until his hand was against her back. "You
could use some company?" 


"Mic it's over. All except for the obligatory parting
words. I'm not going to have my miracle, and you are
not going to have your marriage." 


"You don't know" Mic started and then stopped. 


"Mic, it's over," Renee said quietly. "And maybe it's
for the best. Would you really have wanted to be
married to her if she didn't love you?" 


"I knew she didn't love me like I loved her. But I'd
hope that once we were married, she'd grow to love
me." 


"I'm sorry Mic. That isn't going to happen. Sounded
pretty much like she knows who she loves and isn't
you." 


"I wanted her to love me," Mic said quietly. "But I
guess you can't make someone love you." 


"No you can't" Renee sighed. "I've been trying to do
the same thing myself. And it doesn't work that way
Mic. And you and I are better off cutting our losses
and going on. Before we get hurt any more." 


"I'm already hurt," Mic said irritably. "Do you know
what I gave up for her? A damn good career with RAN.
Because I thought she loved me." 


"In her defense, and I can't believe I'm defending
Mac, she didn't ask you to do that" Renee reminded
him. "That was your choice." 


"Yeah, I guess it was" Mic sighed. "But she could have
told me in the beginning that she didn't want this.
But she's the one who moved the ring, Renee. She's the
one who said she wanted to marry me." 


"Obviously she and Harm worked out whatever obstacles
had been in their way. And you and I are the broken
hearted." 


"So you're willing to give him up without a fight?" 


"Mic, he was never mine to give up" Renee sighed.
"Just like Mac was never yours. Now I'm starving and
I'm not really in the mood for cafeteria food. You
want to see if there's anything edible in this town?" 


"I think I should stay in case Sarah.." he started. 


"She isn't going to want you when she wakes up Mic"
Renee said quietly. "She's going to want Harm." 


"Yeah, she made that pretty clear earlier, didn't she"
Mic sighed. "Guess there's no reason I can't take a
lovely lady out for a bite to eat." 


"Mic, I'm not looking for another sailor just yet" 


"I'm not a sailor any more remember?" 


******************************************* 

"Mr. Chegwidden" 


AJ looked up at the nurse who'd come into the waiting
room. "Yes." 


"Ms. Mackenzie is starting to wake up again and I
thought it might be a good idea to have someone there
with her." 


"Of course" AJ said as he quickly rose from his chair.
"Course you know the only person she's going to want
to see is Mr. Rabb." 


"We might be able to manage that" the nurse smiled. "I
just got word that Mr. Rabb was starting to come
around as well. Fortunately he's still pretty groggy
so he hasn't started screaming for her yet." 


"Give him a minute" AJ smiled. "He'll be down here
before you know it. In fact, maybe I should start
there instead." AJ headed to Harm's room, hearing
Harm's yelling before he got to the door. 


"I need to see her" Harm was pleading with the nurse. 


"Stand down Commander" AJ ordered sharply as he walked
into the room. 


"Sir, I need to see Mac" Harm pleaded. 


"You needed to rest earlier and you didn't" AJ
retorted. "And then you passed out on her. And she had
to be sedated because she was so upset." 


"Oh god, I didn't mean to upset her" Harm wailed. "Is
she okay? Can I see her please? I don't want her to be
worried about me." 


"Yeah like that will ever happen" AJ scoffed. "About
the same time you stop worrying about her. Never." 


"Sir you don't understand" Harm started. 


"I think I do son" AJ smiled. "I wasn't born yesterday
you know." 


"Then you'll take me to see her" 


A few minutes later AJ wheeled Harm into Mac's room.
The sedative had just about worn off and she was
looking around anxiously for Harm. 


"Harm" she cried. "Are you okay? You scared me to
death again. One minute you're talking to me and the
next you're passed out on me." 


"Easy ninja-girl" Harm whispered as he took her hand
into his arms. "I'm okay. I'm sorry I scared you like
that." 


"You're really okay?" Mac asked as she pulled away to
look at him. 


"Besides a little concussion, I'm fine" Harm assured
her and AJ rolled his eyes as he headed to the door
but said nothing. 


"I was so scared" Mac whispered. "You weren't
answering me and I didn't know if you were okay. And
Mic and Renee.." She stopped as she suddenly
remembered the two being there. 


"Mic and Renee were here?" Harm questioned. "Are you
sure?" 


"Yes. I kept screaming that I loved you and Mic was
trying to tell me I didn't" Mac said quietly. "And you
were just lying there and I didn't know if you were
okay." 


"Mac, I'm sorry" Harm said softly. "I didn't mean to
scare you like that and I didn't plan on Mic and Renee
finding out like that." 


"You're not upset that they know are you?" 


"No, I'm upset that you were upset by everything" Harm
said gently. "The Admiral told me they had to sedate
you." 


"The doctor couldn't tell me if you were going to be
okay" Mac whispered. "And I couldn't stand the thought
of losing you. Not after last night." 


"I know because I was afraid I was going to lose you"
Harm said softly. "That's why I wouldn't listen to
anyone when they told me I needed to rest. All that
mattered was you being okay" 


"No more of that sailor" Mac said firmly. "You are
very important to me. I don't need you giving me any
more heart attacks like that." 


"You're very important to me too" Harm whispered. "I
love you Sarah Catherine Mackenzie. And somehow the
good Lord saw to it that we got through last night. I
don't want to waste another chance with you." 


"I love you Harmon Rabb and we're not going to let
this chance slip away" Mac promised. "And now why
don't you come here and join me on this bed?" 


"Didn't I see that same scenario in a bad late night
movie on Cinemax," he joked and then his expression
turned immediately serious. "I can think of nothing I
want more than to lay there and hold you right now." 


Slowly he rose from the chair as she scooted to one
side, moving painfully and his hands went immediately
to help her. Very carefully he settled himself in and
she put her head on his chest. 


"Can you see yourself in about that same position
every night from now on," he whispered, "because you
know I don't think I can let you go again." 


"I was hoping that would be the case," she sighed and
snuggled closer to him, raising her hand up to rest
against his cheek, much as she had during those
terrifying few moments on the Watertown. "Rest Sailor.
It's all over. We've found what we were looking for." 


"I'd say so," AJ agreed quietly, having walked up to
the end of the bed. "I came to see if you were
comfortable, which I see that you are. I don't want to
be here when they find you two, so I'm going to head
on back. I know Singer decided she was in charge and
that scares me. You know where I am if you need
anything." 


"Yes sir, thank you. We're fine. I think we've got all
we need." Harm gave him a small wave. 


"I think I've been dismissed," he said with amusement.
"I'll check on you later." 

============================== 

Tony's Restaurant
Quantico, Va.



"Mic thank you," Renee smiled wanly as she swallowed
the last of a bowl of soup. "Thank you for taking me
out of there while I still had some pride left." 


"Well I could say the same to you about me," he
answered with a heavy sigh. "I'm not going to beg. In
fact I've done enough of that already. And enough
reminding her of what I gave up for her." 


"That she didn't ask you to do," Renee pointed out
gently. 


"I know that, but I was sure it was what she wanted,"
Mic sighed again. "I assumed--and you know what that
makes me." 


She slid her hand across the table to lay atop his.
"Can I ask you something? How much of your wanting Mac
was out of love, and how much was because you knew
Harm might want her?" 


"I've asked myself that before," he admitted candidly,
"and try as I might, I can't deny that was a motivator
but certainly only a small percentage." 


"You and he have always been at odds?" 


"We've ranged from friendly competitiveness to hating
each other's guts I guess." Another candid admission.
"But he's not a bad sort. One thing I do know, he
loves her, and he'll never hurt her." 


There was silence for a moment and he looked at her
with sympathetic eyes. "How about you luv? You hung on
a long time." 


"Far longer than I should have," she sighed. "Harm was
not going to marry me, he wasn't even going to commit
to any kind of long term or live together thing. But I
was blind in love. And I thought I could accept the
fact that I wasn't his first choice because I figured
once the two of you married, he would want me heart
and soul." Her fingers toyed with his hand
momentarily. "What now?" 


"I don't know about you, but I'm going to go say
goodbye," he said firmly. 


"I'll come with you." 

===================================== 

Mac's Hospital Room 


"Never a camcorder around when you need one, because
when I tell these things in staff meeting no one
believes me," the rotund head nurse declared. "Now
just what the hell is going on here?" 


"Visiting hours." Harm flashed her his best smile.
"Please." 


"Mr. Rabb I have orders from your doctor to make sure
you're resting." 


"What the hell does it look like I'm doing right now.
And I guarantee you I'm doing a lot more resting right
here than I would be down the hall worrying about
her." 


"OK, but only because I've got six other rooms and
don't have time to deal with one nut case. But I'll be
back." The door slammed and Mac giggled. 


"She'll be back." 


"I'll be here. She won't have to go far to find me." 

================================== 


Two Hours Later 


"Well Ms. Hollywood, are you ready?" Mic parked the
car and took a long breath. They had spent the
afternoon together, following that old adage about
misery loving company. And now they would bid their
good-byes. 


"I am. It's not going to get any easier," she sighed. 


Mic had a gentle arm around her shoulders as he led
her to Mac's room. "Well this is cozy," he murmured
when he spotted them. 


At his familiar voice, Mac struggled to sit up, giving
a small moan of pain and Harm's hands immediately went
to help her. 


"Mic please, please don't," she begged. "I can't do
that with you." 


"I'm not," he said quietly, "but I would like it if we
could talk. There's probably a few things that we both
need to say. And Renee would like to speak to Harm as
well. Please." 


"Mac?" Harm asked gently. "You don't have to do this
now. It can wait. I won't leave you unless you're
comfortable talking to him now." She did not answer at
once and he looked to Renee. "Renee I do want us to
talk. But I'm not going to leave..." 


"Harm it's fine," Mac spoke up. "Mic's right. There's
things we all four of us need to say. Sorry being one
of them." 


"OK, if you're sure," he said doubtfully, and after
kissing her cheek began to lift himself slowly from
the bed. Mic watched him for a second and held out his
hand to him. "Can I give you a hand?" 


Harm hesitated for a moment before accepting.
"Thanks." 


"Yeah," Mic nodded and aided him to the wheelchair
which Renee hurried to push. 


"Renee let's just go into the hallway lounge. I don't
want to get too far away," Harm stipulated. 


"Of course," she responded with only a trace of
sarcasm. 


Mic waited until they were gone and then picked up
Mac's hands in his, his fingers toying with the ring
she had not yet removed. Very carefully he slipped it
from her and placed it in his pocket. "I knew it was
too good to last," he said softly. 


"I'm sorry Mic" Mac said quietly. "You know I never
intended to hurt you this way." 


"I'd like to believe that" Mic said with a small
smile. "But you never loved me did you?" 


"I loved you Mic" she answered softly. "But not in the
way one should love the man she's going to spent the
rest of her life with." 


"And not like you love Harm" Mic finished. "Do you
have any idea how much it hurt when I walked in here
the first time and heard you say you loved him? I've
been waiting almost a year for you to say those words
to me." 


"Mic I'm sorry" Mac repeated. "I've hurt you badly and
for that reason you have every right to hate me." 


"Unfortunately I just love you" Mic sighed. "But
obviously that wasn't enough." 


"Not enough to make it work. Eventually we would have
come to this point Mic. It was better that it happened
now instead of later." 


"Yeah, I guess you're right on that. Maybe I can go
back and put my life together again." 


"I know you gave up a lot for me and you don't know
how sorry I am for that" Mac said quietly. "But you
never asked before you did it." 


"No I didn't" Mic agreed. "But you also never told me
to leave." 


"I guess we're both a bit to blame on that," Mac
admitted. "You for not asking me how I felt and me for
not telling you how I felt." 


"I thought I knew how you felt" Mic replied.
"Especially after you moved the ring to the other
hand." 


"My mistake. I should have been honest with you then."



"I wish you would have been, Sarah. It would have been
a lot easier than this." 


"I know" Mac sighed. "All I can say is I'm sorry Mic.
I never set out to intentionally hurt you." 


"Yeah, I know" Mic said quietly. "Sorry, I'm just
letting off a little steam. But I didn't come in here
to fight with you. I just wanted to hear you tell me
what I knew was the truth so I could move on." 



Lounge
Same Time



"I guess the I love you's came pretty easily last
night" Renee said quietly as she sat down in the chair
in front of Harm's wheelchair. 


"Yes they did" Harm admitted. "And I'm sure that's
hard for you to understand since you've been looking
for those words for a while now." 


"No Harm, I understand more than you know. I've always
known that you and Mac had a special bond. Why do you
think I was counting the days to her wedding? I was
naïve enough to believe that if she were married to
Mic it would finally happen to us. I just never
counted on you two getting stuck together for an
evening and suddenly blurting out how you felt about
each other." 


"Neither did we" Harm said quietly. "And at the time,
neither of us was sure we were going to ever get the
chance to say the words again. And I didn't want to
spent the rest of eternity knowing I'd never told Mac
how I felt." 


"So I guess this is it then" she sighed. "One year
later and I have nothing to show for it." 


"Renee, you'll find the right man. I'm just not that
man. You know I never made any promises to you." 


"Yeah, well I was hoping. And I know you never made
any promises. You just liked having me around when it
was convenient." 


"Okay, I probably deserve that" Harm said quietly.
"But if I remember correctly, in the beginning you
didn't want anything more either." 


"That was before I fell in love with you" Renee
sighed. "You and that Rabb charm. No matter how many
times you stood me up, you always came back with just
the right thing to say to make me feel better and to
stick with you." 


"Maybe I should have just been honest" 


"Yeah, you could have. But I guess I could have also
walked away at any time and I didn't. So it's as much
my fault as it is yours." 


"So what are you going to do now?" 


"Not sure" she replied. "I never got to LA last night
to see about the big job offer. I'm not sure if it
still stands but I may catch a flight out there
tonight." 


"You know I wish you the best of luck," Harm said with
a small smile. 


"Thanks" she smiled as well. "And I guess this is
goodbye. Take care of yourself sailor. I hope she
makes you happy." She bent down to give him a hug and
she felt the tears brimmed as she pulled away. 


"She does" Harm said quietly. "And I hope one day you
find someone who makes you happy like that." 


"So do I" Renee sighed as she wiped her eyes. "You
ready to go back now." 


"Please" 

================================== 

Mic and Mac were quiet for a long minute, each
watching the other's reaction to all that had just
been said. Finally Mac cleared her throat. "Listen,
there's plenty of blame to go around in this, and Harm
and I bear our share. We've had opportunities in the
past--numerous chances--to be honest with each other
and ourselves about how we felt, long before we ever
knew there was such a thing as a Mic Brumby or Renee
Peterson. And in Sydney, when I took your ring, I was
reeling from Harm's rejection of me." 


"Did you do it just to show him?" Mic asked quietly. 


"OK maybe a little," she admitted. "To show him that
there was someone who found me desirable. But I could
ask you the same thing--did you give it, to show him?"



"Yeah a little," he smiled. "But Sarah, in total
honesty, I wanted to spend my life with you." 


"I know. I know that," she conceded. "And guilt and
remorse and fear of hurting you kept me from being
honest with you from the beginning." 


"If I had called you last June and told you I was
planning to reserve and come, what would you have
done--would you have told me no?" 


"Yes--at least I hope I would have had that kind of
courage," she whispered. 


"OK, thank you," he sighed and rose from the bed,
releasing her hands. 


"I'm sorry," she whispered, and with a torrent of
pent-up emotion, held her arms open for him. 


"It's OK," he whispered back. "I love you. And I'm
sorry too." He caught her in a long hug, knowing it
would be there last, and she wept quietly into his
shoulder. 


"Mac, Mac you OK?" Harm called to her in alarm, seeing
her in tears as Renee pushed him in to the room. 


"I am honest," she answered, her face muffled by his
shirt. 


"We can have a goodbye can't we mate?" Mic asked. 


"Of course you can," Harm told him and looked up at
Renee, motioning her to lean down to him. "And we
shall have ours." He hooked his hand at the back of
her head and kissed her gently. "Goodbye Renee. I'm
sorry about everything. But to stay with you when I
don't feel that way would be the most wrong of all." 


Mic pushed Mac back from him after a minute and walked
over to Harm, holding his hand out to him. "I think
the best man won." 


Harm smiled and accepted his offer to shake. "Not
necessarily, but it does prove that love will find a
way." 


Mic nodded and took Renee's arm and then put his arm
across her shoulders and in that manner they walked
out of the lives of the two people who meant the most
to them in the world. 


"You OK?" Harm asked gently, wheeling over to Mac. "I
mean it's not too late to get him back." 


"Harmon Rabb don't even suggest that," she gasped.
"We're finally getting it right here. Finally...." her
voice faded as exhaustion over took her. "Finally..." 


"Yes finally," he sighed and with major effort,
levered himself from the chair and back into her bed.
"Finally." 

================================ 

Near Winchester Virginia
October 2001



"This is it, I'm sure of it," Harm said quietly,
pulling the SUV off the road. "Yes of course it is.
See that's new guard rail in place." 


She shuddered slightly and remained in the car while
he walked around to her. "You're sure now about this?"
he asked. 


"Yeah I am," she nodded. "I want to see it up close." 


He held her hand as she climbed down and kept a tight
grip on her as she followed him over the guard rail. 


"I feel like we're making a pilgrimage," she laughed,
her hand trembling slightly in his. 


"We are," he grinned, "going back to where it began." 


Slipping and sliding they lowered themselves down and
with both panting, reached the ledge on which the SUV
had come to rest that long ago night. 


"We fell a long way," she gasped, looking back up. "We
were lucky to live through that you know that." 


"You almost didn't," he returned with a strong shudder
passing through him. "I almost lost you that night. A
little while longer and you would have bled to death
in my arms, and my life would have been over as well."



"But I would have died knowing you loved me," she
reminded him with a soft smile and pointed upward to a
grove of trees, now brilliant in their Fall wardrobe.
"And in exactly fifty-six hours and twenty-nine
minutes, in a picnic grove up there, I shall become
your bride." 



"The moment I've waited forever for" Harm whispered as
he wrapped his arm around her waist. "I always dreamed
but never thought it would actually happen." 


"Did you forget what you told me that night?" Mac
inquired and he looked at her in confusion until he
finally remembered. 


"That we belonged together" he smiled. "No. But before
that night I never thought it would happen." 


"Well I guess Fate decided we needed a push in the
right direction" Mac sighed. 


"Over the edge and straight into each other's hearts"
Harm finished and Mac smiled up at him. 


"Have I told you in the last five minutes how much I
love you" she said with a kiss to his cheek. 


"No but you could remind me again" he whispered before
his lips found hers in a long kiss. 


"What was I supposed to remind you?" Mac whispered
breathlessly when they finally parted. 


"Come on, we've got a wedding to get ready for" 

=========================== 


Fifty Six Hours and 29 Minutes Later 


The small group of guests gathered in the grove under
the trees, the sun high above in the fall sky. 


"Ma'am, I still can't believe you and Harm came back
to this spot to get married" Harriet sighed. "This is
so romantic." 


"It's were we came together" Mac smiled. "And it's to
remind us of what we found and how we almost lost it
all." 


"Well you are a spectacular bride" Harriet smiled as
she looked at her friend in the simple white dress Mac
had chosen. Unlike the wedding she and Mic had been
planning, her and Harm had kept everything simple.
There would be no fancy reception, a cookout in the
picnic grove instead, AJ happily offering to be the
chef for the day. And the guest list had been small,
just their closest friends and family. 


"You ready Mac?" Harriet asked. "I think your sailor's
waiting for you." 


A few minutes later she walked toward Harm, her sailor
looking as handsome as ever in his dress whites. She
smiled as she reached him, and he returned the smile
as he took her hands in his. 


"Sarah Catherine Mackenzie, I offer to you today my
love for eternity. Fate brought us together once, and
that same fate brought us together again when we'd
almost lost each other. I cannot promise you a
lifetime of happiness, but I do promise that I will
stand beside you through both the laughter and the
tears. I love you Sarah Catherine and I look forward
to every day of the rest of my life with you." 


A gentle thumb to her cheek wiped away the tears of
happiness that had fallen during his heartfelt words. 


"Harmon David Rabb, you have given me the greatest
gift I could ever expect, your love. And for the rest
of my days I shall treasure that love as much as I
treasure you. Fate granted us a second chance and for
that I thank our God in heaven. I promise you a
lifetime of love, and know that I will stand beside
you as your wife for as long as we both shall live. I
love you Harmon David and I look forward to everyday
of the rest of my life with you." 


The symbols of their love were exchanged and with wide
smiles on both their faces, Harmon David Rabb kissed
his wife for the first time. 


The End